The Feast is Ready... Come!

Our grandchildren love to come to our house for special occasions and have a “feast” at our table. They call it that because we put on a tablecloth, we use special dishware, the food is placed in serving dishes, we put out special dishes with pickles, pickled beets, sliced homemade bread, and all their favorite foods. Our granddaughter loves to do little things to decorate the table and the area around the table too. It is a joyful time for everyone!

This morning as I was praying and worshiping God, He brought to mind the banquet that He prepares for me every day! He knows just what I like and what I need and He prepares a table for me each and every day and invites me to come, sit with Him, eat and drink and be filled. He puts the food in special dishes and makes it attractive. He serves only the best wine. And He lingers at the table in conversation with me, hearing my heart and telling me what is in His heart. He loves me and draws me into the conversation and teaches me many things.

Song of Songs 2:3-5 puts it this way, “Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest is my beloved among the young men. I delight to sit in his shade, and his fruit is sweet to my taste. Let him lead me to the banquet hall, and let his banner over me be love. Strengthen me with raisins, refresh me with apples, for I am faint with love.” Once we have experienced sitting at His table and being fed from His choice foods, we are drawn to that and desire it. My intimacy with Jesus grows as I spend time with Him at the table which He has prepared for me.

Psalm 23:5 says, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” When life is hard and things are pushing in on me, when circumstances are just plain horrible, still He prepares a table for me, feeds me and anoints me. And I am strengthened in order to face even the hardest things in life.

In Luke 14:16-24 Jesus tells the parable about a banquet. In summary, a banquet was prepared and many were invited to come celebrate at the table. But those who were invited were too busy. They had work to do, investments to check out, other people they wanted to see. And they refused to come. So the one who prepared the banquet invited those who were poor, crippled, blind and lame. And when the table still had room, he filled the table with those out in the country and surrounding area. All the self-important people who were first invited, missed this great event.

How blessed we are to be called to Jesus’ banquet table each day. He wants to feed us, strengthen us, heal us, and teach us as we feast at His table He has prepared for us. How sad He must be when we are too busy to come. How sad we will be when we realize we were invited, but we missed it because we chose to serve our busyness rather than sit at His table.

Lord, open my eyes to see the table You have prepared for me. May I never miss a time or place where You have invited me to dine with You. Continue to grow my intimacy with You. Teach me who You are and what You have for me to do each day. Thank You for calling me, inviting me and making room for me at Your table. Amen.

Intimacy with God

Friendship is a good thing. We all need friends. When I meet a friend for coffee, we usually express delight to see each other as we greet and prepare to spend some time together. We look forward to the encounter and we listen to each other’s hearts as we share our lives with each other. And when we part, we often make plans to meet again soon and anticipate that time of fellowship together.

What does it look like when I meet with God? Do I sometimes blow Him off because I am too busy? “Sorry God, just no time for you today. I need another hour of sleep and then I have lots to do.” Do I go through a routine that I designed to discipline myself to do ‘morning devotions’? I read so many chapters of the Bible. Yes, yes, I’ve read it before. I know what it says. I pull out my list of prayer requests and read through it. God be with this person. Heal that person. Give them what they want. And then rush into my day with no other thought of God and muscle through my activities whatever they are.

Jesus had much grace with the disciples as He instructed them in the years He spent with them. I think He has much grace for us too as we learn who He is and how to relate to Him. James and John wanted to be important in His kingdom. Philip struggled with trusting Jesus to come through. Peter thought he could handle it all until he found himself denying Jesus not once but three times! Somehow, when we come to the end of ourselves, we finally begin to look for Jesus.

The more I understand who God is, the more I get up in the morning with anticipation of our time together. The more I am overwhelmed by His love – that He would pay attention to me! The God who created the heaven and the earth and all that is in it would want to meet with me each day and share His heart with me! He has given me the privilege of praying – not so I can control the things happening around me, but so that I can join His heart for the people He cares about. He allows me to participate in the work He is doing!

“The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is His faithfulness; His mercies begin afresh each morning. I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance; therefore, I will hope in Him!” Lamentations 3:22-24 Jeremiah pens these verses in the middle of lamenting being homeless and grieving all that he has lost. And following these verses, he expresses his hope that he has found in knowing God’s love. He is able to worship God in the most dire of circumstances. Paul and Silas worshiped God while sitting in prison because they knew they were loved.

God has invited us to seek Him and to desire to be in His presence. “In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me.” Jeremiah 29:12-13 “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8

God is not hiding from us. He is right here in our midst, inviting us to come, rest in Him, receive nurture and friendship, and be loved. Meeting with Him isn’t a discipline, it is a privilege and an act of love for each other! When I have truly given and received that love, I am free to love others well. I John 4-5 lay out a beautiful picture of what it means to be loved by God and how that effects the way we behave toward others.  Our time of worship, listening, sharing, and receiving from God daily is so important to our relationship with God and it is what feeds our relationships with each other. I sure don’t want to miss that. Do you?