Take your place at the table

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside quiet waters, He restores my soul. He guides me along the right paths for His name’s sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for You are with me, Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely Your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 23:1-6, The Holy Bible, NIV

Across most cultures, a table, whether it is an actual table or a cloth draped over a bed or on the ground, is a place of intimacy. It is a place where we share life together. Sharing a cup of tea or coffee or a meal together is one of the most significant things you can do with someone.

It’s no accident that a table in the Bible is also a holy place, a place of intimacy with God. Furthermore, bread is symbolic not only of God’s Word but also of God’s provision, of God’s sustenance. The table in the Tabernacle always held fresh bread that represented God’s constant Presence. God rained down bread from heaven for the Israelites every morning, miraculously sustaining them for 40 years while they wandered in the wilderness.

The Bible says that Jesus is the living Word of God who has always existed but who became a human being to live among us. Jesus came to the earth not just to die for our sins and to be raised to life so that we could have the assurance of life after death; but also, He came to earth to show us how to live. Jesus says that He is the Bread of Life and that His Words are Spirit and they are Life (John 6:35,63).

Do we realise how much God loves us

Come to Me…
to sit at His feet,
to join Him at the table that He has prepared for me…
to pursue intimacy with Him,
to seek His face like my life depends on it…
because it does.

Many of us feel unable to take our place at His table due to unworthiness thinking we didn’t have a place at the table with Christ. Rather, our perspective can be that our place in God’s Kingdom was under the table, scrapping around for the crumbs that fell off God’s table. 

Our place is not under the table; our place is at the table…with Jesus.

The table represents a place of deep intimacy with Jesus where He reveals Truth, especially The Truth about who God says He is and The Truth about who God says I am.

The table is Jesus’ always open invitation to “Come to Me;” so that I can feast on The Word of God and allow Him to compassionately reveal the heart of God for me, to lovingly and tenderly expose the lies of the enemy, and to convince me of God’s Truth.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

God prepares a table for me in the presence of my enemies? Because, in this world, we have an enemy who is always on the prowl. He is relentless in his desire to steal, kill and destroy us and what we have with God. Since, we cannot destroy our enemy, we have to learn to overcome him, to resist him, to stand firm against him.

Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him standing firm in the faith.
1 Peter 5:8-9, The Holy Bible, NIV

Intimacy with Jesus is the One Thing, the Only Thing, that has enabled me to overcome the enemy and to experience victory over the devil’s schemes that have held me back all my life. Intimacy with Jesus is the One Thing, the Only Thing, that has enabled me to enjoy lasting freedom and to experience the abundant life that Jesus promised; the kind of life that I always thought was a fairy-tale, too good to be true for me.

It is the One Thing that changes everything.

Bread alone will not satisfy, but true life is found in every word that constantly goes forth from God’s mouth. – Jesus
Matthew 4:4, The Holy Bible, TPT

His love changes everything.

All this has happened as I have joined Jesus at the table He has prepared for me.
Intimacy with Jesus is the One Thing that changes everything.
He has prepared a table for you too.
It’s a place of intimacy with Him.
His invitation is always open.