Thanksgiving is upon us. It’s a time that can become overlooked or overwhelming. Like many holidays we focus on the food most of the time… And thanksgiving is no different. It’s all about the turkey, the ham, the desserts, and all of the fixings. We stress over how long to cook the turkey, or if we made enough desserts for everyone to have their favorites. We say we are grateful and thankful for this one day and all whom celebrate with us…. but what if we look at one simple task that gets overlooked: the table and preparing it.
One early morning around 2ish, I was up with my daughter. At that time I was nursing and I had this pillow that helped make things easier. My mother, family members , & I Joked about it being a table. It was shaped like a table and with that pillow my daughter ate off it like a table. Now that you have this awakard image in your mind, I’ll get to my point. It was 2 a.m. and Selah was crying. I was getting my “table pillow” out and ready. As I was gathering everything I told her, “It’s ok. Calm down, I’m preparing you a table.” . I couldn’t help but laugh at myself in this moment because she had no idea what I was telling her. She just knew her need and I wasn’t providing it fast enough. It wasn’t until later as I was feeding my child that God used my silly joke to show me a bigger picture.
In the 23rd Psalms David wrote in verse 5:
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.“
God said he would “prepare a table.”, but it wasn’t until a 2 a.m. feeding that I understood what He was saying here.
He would prepare the table, not me. He would do the work. He would set it up like it was supposed to look like. He would decorate it in his liking. He would tell me when the table was done being prepared. He would have all the chairs set up and knew where each person would be seated. He would let me know when to go to the table so I could eat from it. He would prepare the table….
But most the time, I want to prepare it. I want to take charge and decorate it in my liking. I want to readjust the seating chart, who’s invited, and when it’s done. I want to rush it because I’m hungry… and that’s just it. We are like Selah. Sometimes we are a baby that is crying, hungry, and is not comprehending what is being told to us. We do not understand that our special table is being set up for us. We do not understand that God heard us and is doing what he would say he would do and that’s preparing the table. We want him to hurry just because we do not understand that he knows our needs.
After Selah got to the “table” her needs started to be met. If we go to the verse we will see that not only does God prepare the table, but it’s where he prepares the table at… For Selah it was simple, for us not so much…
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.”
He will put us smack dab in the middle of our “enemies”. Not in the middle of our friends & family where we are comfortable, but in the middle of our “enemies”.
Often times when I would read this passage, I thought he meant physical enemies. People whom we don’t like, trust, who’s hurt us etc. But that’s not the enemies He’s speaking about. He will put you in the middle of your enemies such as: fear, anxiety, & grief, just to name a few. Maybe your afraid of love or joy. Maybe you are scared of life itself. He will seat you among these enemies not to punish us, but for us to show our enemies God.
God said he would never leave us nor forsake us, & if he’s preparing a table for us in the presence of our enemies- he’s not going to leave us there. That would be like me leaving Selah just because I had the table ready. “Ok everything is set , I’m gonna leave now!” No, it says he anoints our head with oil. He stays and gives us a gift. A gift of anointing oil. He pours his blessings over us. His grace, his love, his saving blood. He anoints us so we can know that we can face our enemies. We can look at them and tell them “You don’t own me!”. Then after we start to enjoy the table God has prepared special just for us we start to see that “MY cup overflows.” .
Blessings, love, joy, & hope that we once thought was gone. Promises and dreams we thought would never come true. Prayers we prayed and cried over that we thought God had pushed aside start to make their way into our hearts. And our cups start to overflow.
I have been waiting/crying for my table. I have been seated and looked at my enemies thinking why did God sit me here so near to them. I also have felt Gods anointing over me like a flood. And I now am seeing my cup start to overflow like I never dreamed. This thanksgiving I’m thankful for the table God has prepared for me. Although I’ve had to travel many miles to get to it, cried many tears, searched for the joy and the light of his love, had to seek out my purpose, and wait on his promises. I can say I’ve made it to this table. Now I can look at my enemies in the eyes and although I still fear them at times, I know I have power over them through the anointing that God has placed over me. And now I will thank God for promises, miracles, and prayers that have not only been answered but has changed me to who I am today.
My cup does overflow today. My heart is thankful. God knew what I needed when I didn’t. And today I’m thankful He prepared my table. Will you let him prepare yours this season?
Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving !
~ Marli Wright
-Angel Mom to Rhett Alec
– Rainbow Mom to Selah
Just Being Marli 