You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. Psalm 23:5
Imagine a great banquet hall in the king’s palace. The king is dressed in common clothes, and he is doing the work of a servant, preparing the table for a great banquet.
All of us are gathered in this vast hall. We would like to help the king, but he will not allow it. He wants us to watch as he prepares the table for us. The only problem is that our enemies are there too.
Fear comes to a few of us and says, “There’s no place for you at this table.” Failure says to others, “Are you the kind of person who deserves to be here? What have you really achieved?” Doubt comes and says, “Are you sure there’s going to be a banquet? Maybe this is your imagination, a product of your upbringing?” The old enemy, Guilt, says, “Remember what you’ve done. How could you ever sit at the king’s table?” And finally Old Wounds—nasty piece of work that he is—keeps saying, “You will never break free from me.”
The king is busy preparing the banquet. But we are surrounded by enemies. They are laughing at us and the king allows it to be so. The laughter stops when the king comes back: “Don’t fear their mockery,” he says. “I am preparing this table for you.”
That’s your position as a Christian believer. Already you are a child of the King. Already you are surrounded by His love. Still, you are in the presence of your enemies. You hear their laughter, and you feel the pull of their temptations. But the Great King is preparing a table for you.
Do you feel overwhelmed by one of these enemies today? What is he saying to you?
