Perspective In Him: A Holiday Devotional Series
“A Prepared Table”
Psalm 23:5 (NKJV), "You prepare a table before me in the presence of mine enemies"
This often quoted scripture has been heard throughout the years of a believer's time in the faith. Psalm 23 is the assured presence and provision of the Good Shepherd and His sheep. As we are in the season of preparing tables, I would like to explore the Father's intent in preparing a table for us. Firstly, there must be an admission that a lot of emphasis has always been placed on what God does in front of our enemies, haters, and the like. However, I would like to shift your focus to the point of the Father taking the time to prepare a table for you and in front of you.
The word "before" is a preposition, which is a word that signifies location, relationship, time, direction, position, and the introduction of an object. The preposition before is telling us in which direction to place our attention, in front of us. When we are so busy taking notice of what is happening around us, we lose sight of what God is doing in front of us.
In the midst of our sight, right in front of us, God is preparing a table. This preparation that the Father does is His activity of laying out and arranging His word before us. He is ordering His promises and instructions that would allow us to consume and digest without being so full to the point we are incapable of forward movement. The Father is creating a spread that speaks of who He is and what He desires of you, from you, and with you. He prepares a table before you, but it isn't just for you. It is a table for two. The word prepare does not only mean to lay out, arrange, and order; it also means to join in battle.
It is not God's design to bless you and then leave you. He has plans to sit with you and meet with you. He has plans to strategize with you so that when you leave the table, you leave with step-by-step instructions to take victory; you leave assured that the battle that awaits you is already won. The table of God is not a place of feasting for your own self-gratification and pleasure; it is the spread-out invitation of the Great King and Commander in Chief.
The problem that we have is that for too long we have been taught to prepare a place for God. Through this passage of Scripture alone, along with so many others throughout the Bible, we see that God has prepared a place for us. In this moment, He is doing it right in front of you.
Will you stop the constant movement, the busyness, and gather your displaced focus, and place your attention before you? Will you meet with the King at the spread He has laid out so that you can secure your next place of destiny? Will you take your seat at the prepared table?
