“The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want…You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.”—Psalm 23
Who are your enemies?
Well, you might say, I don’t have too many – I mean, I get along in life OK.
But we have unseen enemies, often called worry, fear, and anxiety, generated by concerns over health, finances, relationships—life!
Worry and fear are crippling; anxiety is health robbing. Our enemies’ goal is to steal, kill, destroy, and rob us of joy and peace.
But Jesus declares, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly (John 10:10).”
Look what He does for us!
He sets a table for us, and that table is filled with the elements of abundant life, gifts from our Good Shepherd. And to navigate that life, “God does not give us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7).
The table set before us is filled with God’s blessings. Family, friends, Christian fellowship, and love, always love. Sometimes the abundant life includes hard things, sorrow, and pain, but it always has the promise of joy.
Whatever blessings we receive are set before us right in front of those insidious enemies! It’s God’s way of defying them, of saying to them, no matter what you do, you are not welcome at this feast of life.
The Jewish people have a tradition of raising their glasses with a toast: L’Chaim – to life!
God’s gift to us is LIFE— abundantly.
“Surely goodness and mercy will follow me,” the psalmist continued, “all the days of my life” (verse 6), with Jesus as our Shepherd.
To Life!
