Sunday, October 18, 2009

Everything...

"You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemy".
Psalm 23:5 (NLT)
As I have spent the past few weeks seeking God and searching for a clearer revelation of who He is, I have had the opportunity to pray with and for several women. These women have all come from different backgrounds, ages, and circumstances. But all have one thing in common....they love God with all their hearts and look to Him to be their everything.
Their circumstances have been, and still are, formidable. These aren't just little "I wish" prayers. These are life altering circumstances... 
  • A single mom who received a layoff notice...She needed God to be her source.
  • A wife and mother called back for a second mammogram...Her fear was great and she needed God to be her peace and strength.
  • A woman who recently had a mastectomy and was doing so well the doctors said the choice for chemotherapy was hers...She needed God to be her healer and give her wisdom.
  • A woman whose marriage had fallen apart... She needed God to be her comfort.
  • A woman whose mother was coming for an extended visit and their relationship was strained...She needed God to be her patience and help her love with His love.
  • A woman who had just bought her first home....While filled with joy and excitement, she needed God to be her provider.
All of these women had critical issues they were facing. But each one of them knew the Source to run to.
Psalm 23 says, "The Lord is my Shepherd, I have all that I need." (NLT) Everything we have need of, God already has provided for us.
Verse 5 of this Psalm says He has prepared a table, a feast, for us. I picture this as a veritable feast with more than we could ask or imagine on it (Ephesians 3:20). When you are invited to a feast, what do you expect to find? Being from the south, we had numerous potluck dinners after church. And everyone would bring out their best casseroles, salads, breads and desserts. More food than you could "ask or imagine" would show up and be laid out on the tables. There was no way you could even have just a taste from every one of them.
God's table is laid out with something so much greater than food. On His table is our...
source
peace
strength
healing
wisdom
comfort
patience
love
provision
...all of this and so much more.
The rest of that verse tells us that this table has been laid out "in the presence of my enemy". You know what that tells me? Our enemy is fully aware of everything that sits on that table! He knows that the answer to every trial he has put in our path is right there in front of us....and he will do whatever he can to prevent us for walking up to the table and receiving what we need. All the fears, the anxieties, the worries, the sicknesses, the disappointments, the irritations....every thing has been put in our path to distract us from the feast on the table.
My commitment, my desire, is to boldly walk up to the table, in the presence of my enemy, and take from it...
The source I need
The peace I need
The strength I need
The healing I need.
The wisdom I need
The comfort I need
The patience I need
The love I need
The provision I need
WHATEVER I need!
Because He is my..... 
Everything!

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