It is a Feast!

The  23rd Psalm speaks to us in many ways about the nature of God.  He is our Protector.  He is the Shepherd of our Soul.  He guides us along the way.  He is our Provider.  He is our Deliverer.  As we sit with the passage for some unhurried moments, we begin to see many different aspects of the Lord of the Psalm surfacing for us to behold.  And, as we come to the final verses one of the things that becomes so abundantly clear is that the Lord, the Good Shepherd, is the Source of blessings in our life.     

After the Valley of the Shadow of Death words comes those words which say, "Thou preparest a table before me...You anoint my head with oil...goodness and mercy shall follow me...I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever..."  (Psalm 23:5-6)  What wonderful images David creates as he writes these words.  Even as those who would destroy us are watching, even as we face evil, and even as we pass through the dark Valley, He is in the process of providing such incredible blessings for us.  It is not enough that we are never alone, or forsaken, but these words remind us of the kind benevolent spirit of the Creator as He looks upon us on this journey toward Home.  Along the way we may find difficulties, but we shall also find a cup overflowing with blessings.    

It may be that the image of being anointed with oil is strange for some of us to consider, but we all know the sense of antiicpation and the experience of joy when we are called to come gather with others at a table full of the things of a feast.  I remember our first grandson who came to his first Thanksgiving meal at our home.  As a child who had been adopted from Bulgaria, he looked at the food filled table and said, "It is a feast!"  Thanksgiving Day since that day has always been a feast.  And the table the Lord prepares for us will be such a feast of blessing that we will forever be looking for a new word which expresses His abundant goodness and mercy.