The Great Chef~

Greetings~

Psalm 23:5 “You prepare a banquet for me while my enemies watch. You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows.”

The Message version of the Bible says, “You serve me a six-course dinner right in front of my enemies...”

Are you hungry? Right about now – it’s 5PM in Miami – I am thinking about what to cook for dinner.  I have gotten pretty good at cooking certain dishes, and I enjoy making my family happy.  I love getting together with my husband and kids and just sitting around the table (no cell phones, please) and just talk nonsense and make fun of each other.  Sometimes we play The Newlywed Game, which Jorge and I have never won.  One time we actually made up a game of “Confession” where everyone had to tell something bad they did.  I discovered that my better half used to be in a gang called The Mafia when he was in junior high, and they went around acting thuggish.  Others in our group stole stuff and keyed cars.  Such hooligans! But it was really funny, and all these get-togethers remind me of this verse: “Seize life! Eat bread with gusto…God takes pleasure in your pleasure!” (Ecclesiastes 9:7)

Throughout the Bible we are encouraged to break bread with friends, family, and even complete strangers who we just met.  But what about the verse at the beginning of this DEVO? How can I enjoy a banquet when hate, sadness, doubt, fear, defeat, hopelessness and any other joy-draining enemies are staring me in the face?  The answer is simple! The Great Chef Himself prepares a six-course meal of love, joy, faith, hope, victory, and goodness.  We can smile in the middle of the messes of life because He sets the table with everything we will ever need. 

Notice, however, how the verse says “You serve me…”  It doesn’t say, “God force feeds me…”  We have to choose to sit at that table and dine.  Let’s pull up a chair together and dig in, shall we?

PRAYER: Dear Lord, We pull up a chair right now and receive the goodness you have prepared for us.  Some of us need extra heaping helpings of peace and others faith.  But no matter the need, You have prepared enough for us all! Nourish us and those we love until we are full. In Jesus’ name, AMEN~