Pull Up a Chair to God’s Table: Discover His Heart-Satisfying Gifts

Have you ever enjoyed invitations such as these?

“Please come. I care about you, and I’ve missed you.”

“Come join me for a meal. We’ll talk and catch up on each other’s lives.”

“Pull up a chair, and let’s enjoy conversation together.”

Invitations are priceless gifts.

How do you feel when you’re invited to the table with someone you love or appreciate? Let’s chat about invitations to the table, then I’ll share an exciting update about my book, A Place at His Table: God’s Daily Gifts to Satisfy Your Heart, releasing September 4th.

A Place at His Table

I invite you to settle into a comfy chair to read the post.

When Mary Frances invited us for dinner, we always accepted. We anticipated my sister-in-law’s scrumptious food and family fellowship at her table.

When we pulled up our chairs, we found dishes filled with favorites like roast beef, fried chicken, butter beans, home-grown tomatoes, and biscuits. Joyful conversation and laughter offered a taste even sweeter than the blueberry cream pies Mary Frances served for dessert.

A seasoned cook, she prepared well as she planned her menu, checked the freezer, shopped, cooked, and set the table.

Our sister-in-law’s generosity fed us well, but God prepares a table of provision from His unlimited, heaven-sized pantry to nourish our souls and equip us to walk with Him in victory. His is a storehouse filled beyond our imagination to meet our every need—yours and mine.

King David, who worked as a shepherd before he was crowned king of Israel, wrote about the table God prepares. In the well-known twenty-third psalm, he began,

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want (Psalm 23:1 NKJV*).

After describing God as the loving Shepherd who cares for His sheep (verses 1-4), David described Him as the Host of His table, a generous host.

You prepare a table before me (Psalm 23:5a).

He described his place of provision as God’s table.

He understood that one of God’s names is Jehovah Jireh, which means “The Lord will provide.” In another psalm, David wrote,

The earth is the Lord’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein (Psalm 24:1).

He provides well for His sheep—those who’ve trusted Christ as Savior and Lord. As a good Father, God doesn’t provide everything on our wish list. Instead, He provides all we need.

As a good Father, God doesn’t provide everything on our wish list. Instead, He provides all we need. #psalm23
#christiandevotions #godsprovision Share on X

What are your needs today?

Do you need a portion of wisdom for a decision? An extra serving of patience? A cupful of faith or a bowlful of joy? Maybe you need to know you’re accepted or unconditionally loved. I’m pondering my needs as I ask you to list yours. Aren’t we grateful God knows our needs better than we do?

Is the enemy of anxiety or worry taunting you with whispers of “What if” and frightening scenarios? Let God equip you for the fight with peace. Are you doubting holy Truth you once believed? Let Him warm up your faith.

Accept God’s invitation. It contains no date or time. His is a standing invitation. For you. For me. For today and every day. To come as we are.

Join Him at His table, won’t you? He has a place for you and daily gifts to satisfy your heart.

Now it’s your turn

What are you expecting to find at God’s table today? Please share one of your most treasured blessings. It may be one that strengthens you to live for Christ.

  • Scripture verses in this post are taken from the NKJV.

   Updates on A Place at His Table, available Sept. 4th

Operation Book Launch is in full operation.

The goal is to honor God. With the help of friends, I’m gathering a book launch team to help me send A Place at His Table out into the world.

Guess what! Tonight I saw the actual pages in a PDF format. They’re beautiful! The exquisite internal design frames God’s Word in the perfect way. Can you tell I’m a bit excited? The designer even created cute little decorative box images to showcase the Table Tips which are fun, practical ways to enjoy fellowship at the table, with a few recipes and centerpiece ideas.

Are you wondering what a book launch team is? It’s a friendly community of folks who gather in a private Facebook group to help share a book. The launch team members see a bit of behind-the-curtain peeks at how a book launches, and they share information. Never been on a team? No worries. Our marvelous Team Manager will show you how with clear directions.

Would you consider helping us? Whether you do or not, I appreciate you, my friend. I’m praying you enjoy the blessings on God’s table this week.
If you want to join, click the link below. After you hit “submit”, watch for the prompt to join the group. Thank you! Here’s the link:

Join Jeannie’s book launch team

 

Find Hope in Times of Waiting at Christmas and Always

Today I welcome Lori Hatcher, a dear friend, author, and today’s guest blogger who says, “You have every reason to hope. How can you hold on to hope in an uncertain world? Especially when experiencing disappointments, setbacks, and discouragement? I invite you to renew your confidence and courage by reading remarkably good news–you have a hope greater than you could ever imagine. An unshakable hope.”

Here’s a gift for you, a devotion from Lori Hatcher’s new book Refresh Your Hope: 60 Devotions for Trusting God with All Your Heart. Find LINKS below for the perfect Christmas gift and more information about Lori.

In the Waiting Times

by Lori Hatcher

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

Galatians 4:4-5 ESV

Do you remember how long it took for Christmas to come when you were a child?

From Thanksgiving Day on, the excitement would build. Decorations appeared in stores. Then lights popped up around town, draped in trees like fairy necklaces. Mouthwatering smells wafted out of neighbors’ kitchens. Christmas trees strapped to station-wagon roofs rolled by like a parade.

At our house, Dad would finally drag the family tree out of the attic and set it up in the living room. One by one (or sometimes in clumps) packages would appear under the Christmas tree. Stockings dangled from the mantle like limp balloons waiting for the breath of Christmas to fill them.

It was a horribly marvelous wait, those childhood seasons of Advent.

And although my childhood Advents were glitterier than the wait the children of Israel experienced, the delays were holy pauses nonetheless.

My sisters and I hoped for a bicycle, the latest Barbie doll, or a stocking full of candy, but the children of Israel waited for the greatest gift of all—the Messiah.

And for humanity, it had been a very long wait. From the dawn of creation, really.

“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel,” God had promised in Genesis 3:15.  *

The time between this first messianic promise and its fulfillment stretched for centuries. Years of glory and years of shame. Times of glorious triumph and times of gut-wrenching tragedy. Moments of fearless faith and moments of faithless fear.

And then the silence. Four hundred years with no word from God.

No kingly edict. No prophetic visions. No holy mandates.

Just silence.

And waiting. And waiting. And waiting.

Unlike my childhood wait between one Christmas and the next, where the memory of the past season birthed hope and expectation for the next, the Jewish people had no memories of their own to carry them through. All they had were their forebearers’ stories and the ancient promises that, one day, a Messiah would come.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. (Isaiah 9:6–7).

Yet during that long silence, and the even longer wait between mankind’s fall and Jesus’s incarnation, God was at work. Preparing a place. Preparing a people. Even preparing a Roman infrastructure that enabled early believers to carry the news of the gospel to the far corners of the globe.

And then, in the fullness of time, God sent His Son to save the world. “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4–5 ESV).

In the fullness of time.

I don’t know what you’re waiting for right now. A prodigal child to return? A dream to be fulfilled? A marriage to be healed? A loved one to be saved? A relationship to be restored? A financial burden to be lifted?

Whatever it is, don’t assume God’s silence means he’s not working. Cling to faith, for “without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him,” the writer of Hebrews reminds us (11:6).

You may be in the middle of a long silence, a time when you wonder if God is at work. Don’t stop praying. Continue to search God’s Word for promises and claim them. Enlist prayer warriors to battle with you.

Never lose hope. Trust that, despite what you see, God is at work. Believe that, in the fullness of time, God will speak life into the silence that fills your ears. Don’t believe Satan’s lies that God has forgotten you or that He’s uncaring or impotent. Trust that He’s always at work (John 5:17) and will fulfill His plan for your life. No plan of God’s can be thwarted (Job 42:2).

He’ll bring to fruition what He promised. And when He does, it will be glorious.

Wait. Hope. Trust. God never wastes a season of waiting.

Take Heart

We can remain hopeful because God is at work in the waiting.

We can remain hopeful because God is at work in the waiting. Share on X

From the Heart

Father, thank you for reminding me that even in the waiting times, you are working. Help me trust you, even when I don’t see evidence of your hand at work. Remind me that you are with me. Teach me the lessons I need to learn to accomplish all you have for me to do. Grow my faith and trust today as I hope in you. In the strong name of Jesus I ask, amen.

* Verses are taken from the NIV unless otherwise stated.

YOUR TURN:

How has trust in God helped you in a waiting period? What part of Lori’s devotion encouraged you the most?

About Lori

Lori Hatcher is an author, blogger, pastor’s wife, and women’s ministry speaker. Her writing has appeared in numerous publications including Our Daily BreadGuidepostsRevive Our Hearts, and Crosswalk.com. A contest-winning Toastmasters International speaker, Lori uses high-impact stories to impart transformational truth. Find out more about Lori and her well-loved 5-minute devotions at LoriHatcher.com.

Give the Gift of Hope for Christmas

Book Links for a wonderful hope-filled gift:

On Amazon: https://amzn.to/3UswCC3

On Christian Book: https://tinyurl.com/4kndjhc3

On Our Daily Bread: (not listed yet)

About Refresh Your Hope, 60 Devotions for Trusting God with All Your Heart

In this uplifting, Scripture-driven 60-day devotional, Lori returns to our rock-solid foundation—God’s amazing promises and His faithful character. Each warm, story-based reading will help you grow closer to God as you reflect on His assurances, His generous nature, and His unwavering commitments. Strengthen your prayer life with thought-provoking prompts. Replace anxiety with joy, peace, and trust while encountering Bible truths about the ultimate Source of hope.
 
Wherever you are today and whatever your situation tomorrow, know on a whole new level that God is with you, He is for you, and He will never fail you. 

This devotion is an excerpt from the book, Refresh Your Hope, 60 Reasons to Trust God with All Your Heart and is used with permission. Requests for permission to quote this book should be directed to: Permissions Department, Our Daily Bread Publishing, PO Box 3566, Grand Rapids, MI 49501, or contact by email at permissionsdept@odb.org

L-I-S-T-E-N: Six Ways to Avoid Pandemic Distraction

Image by sweetlouise on Pixabay

“I can’t listen,” complained our youngest granddaughter when the adult conversation in the car prevented her from hearing her favorite song. We smiled at her use of “listen” and turned the CD player volume up. Problem solved.

Most listening challenges are more complicated.

This morning as I read a devotion, the stone deck fountain played soothing, peaceful notes as the water trickled down its sides. The sound provided perfect “background music” for my study and reminded me of God’s peace that flows in the hearts of believers who trust Him.

In prayer, I released some anxious thoughts that threatened to engulf me. With a desire to hear from God, I picked up my study Bible and began to meditate on a familiar verse.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:7

A sudden buzzing sound pierced the quietness of my reverie. I discovered the source of the noise about twelve inches to my right. A giant carpenter bee hovered over the deck railing, playing dissonant notes with its wings. The awkward insect then lumbered along the underside of the wood looking for a spot to nibble out a hole.

The volume of the buzz not only distracted me from sensing God’s peace, but it also harassed me with thoughts of whether carpenter bees sting.

If not, I’ll stay. If so, I’ll move. I can’t remember. Should I shower the bee with insect spray or allow it to go on its merry way? Oh, well. He’s now busy with chomping.

image by Deedster on Pixabay

Although my bee watching lasted only a few minutes before I returned to my devotional reading, I realized later I’d forgotten about the sound of the fountain, its representation of God’s peace, and the verse I’d planned to study. The distraction caused me to lose focus.

In the same way, pandemic life can fill our thoughts with a cacophony of disturbing news reports that are conflicting and constantly changing. What works today may be labeled ineffective tomorrow. Case numbers decline, and then they increase. Politicians pontificate, and doctors direct.

The barrage of information can incite apprehension and fill us with uncertainty. A friend recently told me she burst into tears when the television news pushed her over the brink.

When the buzz of newsfeeds and anxious thoughts divert my attention from hearing God’s peace and direction, I feel like echoing my granddaughter’s statement: “I can’t listen.”

The same is true when my appointments with God are interrupted by a text reporting a friend’s positive COVID-19 result or my own thoughts about increased local cases, or even a carpenter bee going about his God-designed tasks.

Has the volume of virus clamor hindered your ability to listen to God? How can we focus on His truths amidst pandemic distractions?

Consider the LISTEN acrostic below and meditate on the verses. Then, please share your thoughts on avoiding pandemic distractions.

L-I-S-T-E-N: Six Ways to Avoid Pandemic Distraction

L: List concerns in a prayer journal and share them with God in prayer.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Philippians 4:6

I: Ignore distractions.  

 Cease striving and know that I am God.

Psalm 46:10

S: Study the Word.

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Psalm 119:105

T: Thank God for His presence and provision.

Give thanks to the God of heaven, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.

Psalm 136:26

E: Exercise self-control by tuning out negative attitudes and social media comments.

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

Philippians 4:8

N: Note important truths God teaches you and commit to obey His instruction.

Blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it.

Luke 11:28

Bible verses are from the NASB.