Psalm 23: 5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
A table in the presence of our enemies…exactly what would that table look like? What enemies would be present? Would it be the parent who somehow rejected or abandoned us? Would it be the bully in school that made every day a living hell? Maybe it would be a teacher who never seemed to be satisfied, or the boss that watched our every move. It could be a school shooter, a thief with a gun who left us traumatized and scared. The co-worker who insisted on making every day a miserable one.
Some of us might feel we have few enemies, while others might have many they could name. Our biggest enemy is the sin that surrounds us every day and is often disguised as a friend or someone with our best interest at heart. Maybe it’s the drug dealers and those who promote war and hatred. Some think it’s the news media who hand out opinions like jelly beans, and politicians who make false promises… The enemies we can see are often people just like us who have made bad choices and have not found the answers to their own problems.
Ephesians 6: 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
So, here we are at the table The Lord has prepared for us and… our cup runneth over? Doesn’t that mean we are brimming with happiness? How can that be, in a room full of our enemies?
Then we look at our host, the one who invited us and sits at the head of the table. In Him we see love and acceptance; forgiveness and salvation… We realize that because of Him and His death on the cross all these enemies have been defeated. We listened to His call to “Come unto me and I will give you rest.” He is the way, the truth, and the life and no one comes to the Father, except through faith in Him. Clinging to this truth, and keeping our eyes on Jesus, our enemies are left powerless and our cup truly does runneth over.
Our enemy is the voice that tells us there is no hope, we are doomed to life full of failure and defeat. This voice is loud and often won’t let us rest for even a minute. But there is another voice, still and quiet that whispers of love and tells us we can overcome. There is hope, if only we believe. Don’t listen to the big booming voice of the enemy. Jesus came that we all might be saved and made free from sin and its hold on us. Won’t you accept His invitation today and come to the table the Lord has prepared for you?
Psalm 23: 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.