Like: A Journey Through Psalm 23Sample

Picture your favorite actor, athlete, or celebrity. What if you found out that they were coming to YOUR house in just a few days? What would you do? The house would be spotless. Candles lit in every room. The meal you have spent hours preparing sits ready on the table, and you yourself are overcome with joy and excitement, gushing at the thought of spending time with this person. That is how God looks at us. When we begin a growing relationship with Jesus, it’s like we become an honored guest at a banquet. During the days this was written, an honored guest would be anointed with a fragrant perfume and also given a cup full of choice—the royal treatment. Our enemies may pursue us and intend to destroy us, yet there is this safe table—already prepared, awaiting us. Because of Jesus, we have an opportunity to sit at this table. His hand is seen in everything from first to last. The table is the Lord’s. The bread is His body; the wine is His blood. It's all a reminder of just how much He's for you. But not only has He prepared the table, but also the guests. When we think of what we were and what we are- of what we deserved and of what we have received—it is with wonder, love, and praise that we say, “You prepare a table before me.” We have enemies, but they have not prevailed. We have fears, but they have no hold on us any longer. We can even love and forgive those enemies. And when we do face them, we face them without fear, because greater is He that is in us, than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4). The future is bright with hope. The dark valley is behind us. The present table here points to the future table above, and Jesus is the sole provider of our overflowing cup. So what if we began to live in this hope? What if we began to live as an overflowing cup? What does an overflowing cup do? It spills. Picture yourself as an overflowing cup, spilling the joy, hope, and love of Jesus on everyone that bumps into you today.