Tag: Psalm 23

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

Jeannie Waters22 Comments on 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

 

Finding God’s Gifts at the Table

Jeannie Waters32 Comments on Finding God’s Gifts at the Table

Our grandchildren’s eyes widen when they see the focal point of family birthday celebrations—the coffee table laden with gift-wrapped packages. Throughout the year, our daughter-in-love notes the toys the children admire, and she considers their needs and interests. Her process ensures the gifts will be both delightful and appropriate.

My husband and I join our co-grandparents and contribute to the purchases. Then we all enjoy watching the children open gifts, selected especially for them.  

Our grandchildren’s mom spends more time with them than anyone else, and she knows their preferences, needs, and sizes. Therefore, the gifts—some needed and some desired—are well-chosen. Wished-for gifts that are unsafe or unwise never make it to the coffee table.

Our heavenly Father also provides gifts for His children. How does our family’s gift-giving tradition compare to God’s provision?

Psalm 23 gives us insight. David praised God as His Provider while he lived under a roof of blazing sun and twinkling stars. If I’d been with David, I would have requested a palace bed instead of a grassy knoll on rocky hillsides with smelly sheep.

However, I’m grateful for God’s plan in David’s life, for his pasture lessons birthed beautiful words that reveal characteristics of our heavenly Father.  

David expressed gratitude for the table prepared before him.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.

Psalm 23:5 NKJV

According to Phillip Keller in A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, the table David referred to could have been a high plateau or a mesa, land the shepherds prepared for their sheep before allowing them to graze there.

Keller describes his own shepherding experience as an arduous process that required the removal of harmful weeds, the clearance of winter debris from water holes, and the protection of the flock from predators. 1

Jesus, our Shepherd, prepares a table for us—a place of fellowship and provision with Him. As the good Shepherd, He supplies all we need. Instead of feeding on the poisonous weeds of false teaching and the cluttered trials of self-effort, we can find gifts on His table to calm our hearts and teach us more about Him.

Instead of allowing the enemy of our souls to devour us like a prowling lion that threatens sheep, we can seek our Shepherd’s protection and embrace the gifts at His table designed to defeat our enemy.

Sheep, Lamb, Farm, Animal, Mammal, Cute

In addition to the shepherd analogy, some scholars describe the Lord as the Host in Psalm 23:5 and His children as guests at His table. In verses 5-6 the psalmist used hospitality-related words, such as table, oil, cup, and house. 2 God’s buffet of blessings is always available.

He invites you to His table to exchange discouragement for joy, fear for peace, and doubt for faith. Empty your plate of false guilt and fill it with His acceptance. Defeat the enemy of pride with an opportunity to serve with a humble heart. Fight against a critical spirit by speaking words of encouragement. His table is filled with every provision we need.

Speaking of tables, back to my question …

How does our family’s gift-giving tradition at the coffee table compare to the provisions at God’s table?

The coffee table serves as a focal point for our celebrations, but when God’s table is our focal point, we find far more generous gifts—blessings we need and blessings that delight us. God knows us better than anyone else. As our good Father, He chooses wisely.

Some of His gifts may not be on our list, but we can trust Him as the Giver of good gifts (James 1:17). Some of what we long for may be omitted for a while because God knows the future and works from His sovereign plan. He’s a wise and loving Father.

If we are Christ-followers, children of God, His gifts are ours to embrace.

If we are Christ-followers, children of God, His gifts are ours to embrace. Share on X

What are you longing to find at His table? We don’t know what today will bring, but God knows which gifts will meet our needs and help us defeat the enemy. Has one of His gifts surprised you lately? Please share with us in the Comments below. We’d love to hear from you.

Gift, New Year'S Eve, Congratulation
If this post blessed you today, perhaps you’ll share the link with a friend. Thanks for reading.

1 Keller, W. Phillip. A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 1970), 91-95. 2 The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2028), 966 (a reference to Psalm 23:5).

Are You Feasting at the Table Where God Fulfills Your Needs?

Jeannie Waters25 Comments on Are You Feasting at the Table Where God Fulfills Your Needs?

When my brother and his wife invited my husband and me to observe elk in their natural habitat, they failed to mention one detail—the nine-mile, single-lane dirt road that wound up a high mountain and down again.

We navigated curves that doubled back on themselves like a snake changing directions. The window view on my side of the car included an almost non-existent shoulder and steep, rocky terrain.

When we descended from the heights and drove into a valley, I unclenched my teeth and took a deep breath. Near dusk, we parked beside a grassy meadow that bordered a forest and waited.

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When the sun neared the tops of the oaks and birch trees, a gigantic bull elk swaggered into view. His size commanded our attention. Soon a cow, a female elk, followed. After they gauged their distance from onlookers, they grazed on luscious grass, their evening meal.

We sat mesmerized as one by one other members of the herd emerged from their camouflaged haven in what appeared to be a choreographed entrance. A calf following his mother, an older bull with a large rack, then more cows braved the unsheltered dining area.

Although I observed an occasional ear twitch, the majestic elk ate in peace, oblivious to camera clicks and human visitors.

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If the animals had cowered in fear amid the trees and ignored the bountiful provision of the pasture, their menu would have consisted of ferns, other plentiful plants on the forest floor, and bark. The tasty tender-blades-of-grass delicacy would have remained beyond their reach.

Later that night, when I scrolled through my cell phone pictures, Matthew 6:26 came to mind.

Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?

Matthew 6:26 ESV

God provides for the birds. He provides for the elk. He provides for me. Not only food and shelter, but salvation in Christ Jesus, and myriad other blessings.

In Psalm 23:2, David mentions green pastures of rest as one of God’s blessings. The fifth verse reads,

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.

Psalm 23:5 ESV
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The elk, grazing in the valley’s grass-filled pasture, created a lovely portrait of God’s table. Among other blessings, He offers His children peace, joy, rest, and prayer, as well as opportunities to serve others and lessons He longs to teach us.

When gripped by fear, we sometimes sit at the world’s buffet and consume a plentiful and steady diet of comparison, people-pleasing, and worry-producing meals. Like an elk who remains in the forest, we miss the wondrous feast our heavenly Father prepares.

Imagine with me …

What if…after asking for God’s help, and forgiveness where needed, we use a spatula to scrape our plates of any anxiety or unsettling thought whose origin is worldly influence, our own desires, or the enemy of our souls?

When we pull up a chair each day to enjoy God’s Word and seek Him in prayer, His truths rinse our plates clean of toxic scraps and fill our hearts and minds with servings of His grace.  

Then, what if we praise and worship the Lord, approach His table, and partake of His blessings—the ones He’s chosen just for us this day? God is a wise Father. He doesn’t grant our every wish and whim, but He promises to meet our needs (Philippians 4:19).

The gifts on God’s table are tailor-made for you. Pause to write down today’s needs and lift them to Him in prayer. Maybe you’ll request joy, peace, strength for daily responsibilities, wisdom for a difficult relationship, or an opportunity to help someone. We can ask Him to teach us lessons we need to learn as well.

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Pray with trust. He provides for His children according to His wisdom, which far surpasses ours. Then, watch expectantly for the way He answers with His perfect timing.

We can begin each morning with this message of encouragement:

Empty your plate of the world’s diet and feast at the table God prepared for you.

Please share: How do you partake of the gifts on God’s table? What need has He met lately? Does He ever surprise you?

Which Gifts Are on Your Table?

Jeannie Waters10 Comments on Which Gifts Are on Your Table?

 

This Gift of the Month idea is a little different. I hope you’ll enjoy unwrapping it.

Gift Selection

For our family birthdays, the coffee table is the focal point with its stack of festive gift-wrapped packages for whichever boy or girl we are celebrating. As per our tradition, when our son and daughter-in-law’s children celebrate birthdays, the four grandparents reimburse our children for the gifts they purchase on our behalf. Then we all enjoy watching the honored child open presents from the family. What a joyous time with hugs and expressions of gratitude!

Throughout the year, our daughter-in-law carefully notes admired toys and considers the children’s needs. This process ensures the gifts will be both delightful to the children and appropriate.

Our grandchildren’s mom spends more time with them than anyone else, and she knows their preferences, needs, and sizes. Therefore, the gifts, some needed and some desired, are well-chosen. Wished-for gifts that are unsafe or unwise never make it to the coffee table.

How does this gift-giving compare to God’s provision?

Our heavenly Father also provides gifts for His children.

Living under the stars in a pasture with sheep, David praised God as His Provider. If I’d been with David, I think I would have asked to live in a palace instead of on rocky hillsides with smelly sheep. In contrast, David, expressed gratitude for the table prepared before him. According to Phillip Keller in A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23*, the table David referred to could have been high plateaus or mesas the shepherd prepared for their sheep before allowing them to graze there. What a fitting picture of Jesus, our Shepherd, preparing provisions for us each day.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

            –Psalm 23:5

God knows us better than anyone else and sees what delights us and what we need. As our good heavenly Father, He prepares His gifts wisely. Some of them may not be of our choosing, but we can trust Him as the Giver of good gifts. By the same token, some of the things we long for may be omitted because He knows the future and His sovereign plan.

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

        –James 1:17

A Beneficial Morning Practice

I’ve started a new practice during my morning routine. I often draw a table at the top of my journal page and thank God for the provisions He’s placed on my “table.” Then I think about my needs for the day. (Of course, my heavenly Father is the only One who knows everything I’ll need.) I ask Him to provide and thank Him for His love.

Maybe I need a deeper understanding of a passage of Scripture or a more thankful heart. Perhaps He will gift me with an extra measure of peace for a brewing storm that is yet unseen to me. Will He provide comfort so that I can comfort someone else?

If we are Christ-followers, some of His gifts are ours to embrace at any time. When we yield to God, the fruit of the Spirit is ours to enjoy and share with those we meet.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness.

            –Galatians 5:22

Other needs may seem mundane in comparison and some may be temporary.  What about time to relax or skill to prepare an entrée? The gift of laughter is a welcomed relief in trying moments. Our heavenly Father may even provide safety in dangers we cannot foresee.

Do You Need These?

It’s interesting to ponder the needs we may encounter in one twenty-four-hour period. What about these?

  • an opportunity to minister to someone
  • mercy for someone who made a mistake
  • forgiveness for someone who has wronged us
  • ability to care for a child or senior adult
  • conviction of sin (Ouch!) Not pleasant, but necessary.

What About These?

  • a delicate flower or dramatic sunset to remind us of the Creator
  • relief from suffering or grace to endure it
  • contentment (Anybody?)
  • discernment in a difficult situation
  • guidance for a decision

A Friendly Challenge

As we consider the gifts God daily places on our “coffee table,” I have a challenge for you, dear reader friend.

On paper or on your computer, make two columns. In the left-hand column, list the needs you had today and those you can predict for tomorrow. Ask God to make you aware of how He met each one as they occurred. In the right-hand column, jot down the way He met the need. (Pardon the specific instructions; it’s the teacher in me.)

Then, answer these questions:

  1. Which gifts did you know you needed ahead of time? Which were surprises?
  1. Which needs still appear to be unmet? (Continue praying about those, realizing God may respond in a way that seems unlikely or unwelcome at first.)
  1. How were His provisions tailor-made for your situations?
  1. What made you rejoice today?

I plan to accept the challenge, too. When we review the final list, I believe praise and thanksgiving for the Gift Giver will pour from our hearts. I feel as excited as my grandchildren on their birthdays, eager to tear the ribbon from presents God selects for me! What about you?

Please share results from this challenge. Your input is valuable.

Whether your gifts seem small or large, sharing them allows you to encourage us. What has God placed on your gift table?

*Keller, W. Phillip. A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1970.