God’s Banquet Table

This is Derek Prince with a word for you from the Word. This word is taken from Psalm 23. David begins the psalm by acknowledging the Lord as his shepherd. Then in verse 5 he says to the Lord:

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” (Psalm 23:5 NIV)

I want you to notice that what the Lord does for David and for everyone whom He shepherds, as revealed in this verse, He does in the presence of our enemies. It’s important to understand that the presence of our enemies does not prevent God from blessing us, providing for us and doing all that He’s promised for us.

So many times when we are confronted with opposition and danger and problems and pressures, our attitude would be: “If it weren’t for the danger, if it weren’t for the opposition, if it weren’t for the pressures, I know God could help me, I know God could bless me.” But I want you to understand that God delights to bless us most in the midst of the pressures. It’s in the presence of our enemies that God provides His banquet before us.

And then He says to the enemies, “This is my provision for My child. You can’t touch it, you can’t harm them, you can’t take it from them.” He provides a table, He anoints our head with oil, the oil of joy in the Holy Spirit, and our cup overflows. So, far from being deprived by the pressures of our enemies, our abundance increases in the midst of that pressure because the Lord is with us. He is our Shepherd.

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