God’s Table

I shared this at our ladies’ retreat this weekend. I wanted to share it here, because it may help someone else.

Have you ever wondered why pastor’s and bible teachers harp so much on having a quiet time, reading your bible, etc? One of the main reasons, I believe, is because we have a very real enemy. His whole existence is wrapped up in destroying those who proclaim to be followers of Jesus Christ. He doesn’t play fairly. He doesn’t say, “Oh, well Christy is having a rough time right now, I’ll just leave her alone for a little while.” No, when I am at my weakest, he is attacking the strongest.

Last week we started a bible study by Louie Giglio called Don’t let the enemy have a seat at your table. (Side note, if you are in the Deweyville area, come join us on Wednesday nights, 6pm for a meal and 6:45ish for the study.) In the study he shares an analogy of our relationship with God being equivalent to Him asking us to sit down at His table and have a meal with Him. It is based off Psalm 23 and specifically vs 5, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;”. As I sat there watching the video and during the discussion time, I had this image in my head. I went home and I drew it out and then made it look much better on my computer. Because I was not gifted with the ability to draw. This image shows how my imagination pictures our Christian walk. If we are focused on God, reading our bible, praying and spending time with Him, we are in the protective covering (armor of God). Everything the enemy may try to attack us with will bounce right off or at least if it does hit home, we are able to recognize it for what it is.

I believe there are two purposes to why God tells us it is necessary to spend as much time as we can with our King. One is for our protection, so we can be sheltered by Him from the enemies’ attacks. The second one is because when we are sitting at the table with God that is where we can manifest His attributes. All of those fruits of the spirit; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. When we are exhibiting God’s attributes, we shine out to the world and are able to draw people to want to have a relationship with the God we serve.

There may be times that we struggle with finding ourselves seated at the table with the king. That is the time when we may need a friend to come along and drag us by the hand back to that table. I pray that we all will seek out relationships that hold us accountable in that way. I know that I am extremely grateful for the sister friends I have in my life that recognize when I am wandering around the table, but refusing to sit. They may not physically drag me back to sitting with my Lord, but I know their prayers are doing just that.

I have no idea why we stubbornly ignore that table. If we have been walking this path with Christ long enough, we know that is where our joy lies. I pray that if you are in that place where you are wandering, that you submit to the truth that His word tells us that the table is set, the Lord is waiting, we only have to take the seat that He has reserved for us.