He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Devotional Thoughts
The promise of Psalm 23 covers both kinds of enemies, demonic and human. The Lord wants us to feast even before our human enemies, people who have become tools of Satan to harass us.
Let me illustrate with an example from a letter our ministry received. A dear Christian woman writes of her troubled marriage with her unsaved husband. This man feels condemned by his wife's holy life. Lately he has become abusive toward her, harassing her and calling her names.
One day recently, the husband came home drunk. In a rage, he pinned his wife against the wall and yelled in her face, "You Jesus-freak. You're crazy! I'm tired of your preaching. I don't want to hear another word. You're no better than I am." He went on and on, in hellish language, bringing endless accusations against her.
Slowly, an anger rose up in the woman. Everything within her wanted to react, naming all of her husband's mean actions toward her. Instead she closed her eyes and prayed silently, "Holy Spirit, help me."
The grace of God poured over her, and she was filled with supernatural peace. She merely looked at her husband tenderly, saying nothing. When he saw that she wasn't going to react, he let her go and stomped out, parking in front of the TV. Meanwhile, she quietly went about her housework with peace and joy in her heart. She was feasting at the Lord's table, feeding on the grace, patience and hope God had spread for her.
Maybe you're enduring a stressful situation at your job. Perhaps your coworkers have betrayed you, gossiping and lying about you to your boss. You spend your days grieving over the cruel ways they have hurt you.
Dear saint, Jesus is calling you to feast in the presence of your enemies. He's reminding you that even in the worst situation, you can run to God's covenant promise: "No weapon formed against you shall prosper" (Isaiah 54:17). Your father is already spreading a table for you, and he wants to fill you up with his grace and compassion.