At His Table

I was setting the table for dinner the other day (something I hadn’t done in a very long time), and my heart began to stir-up with excitement about intentionally preparing to share a meal with my family. Then out of nowhere, I started wondering if they were as excited to have an ordinary family dinner as I was.

I think the bottom line is that I was wondering if they would even notice and appreciate my effort and excitement to spend time with them. Just as I was having that realization, I felt God smiling on me and telling me, “That’s what I do for you every day. I set a table for you so we can spend time together, and I eagerly wait for you to come join me. That’s how much I love spending time with you.”

Wow. My excitement turned to gratitude as I was reminded of the fact that the God of the Universe wants to spend time with me. Psalm 23:5 says: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” I have an open invitation to come sit at His table everyday and I don’t always take my time to fully enjoy it.

As I thought about this more, now having my family in mind, I realized that it’s not that they don’t want to spend time with me, we actually enjoy spending time together. It’s just that we all have other things fighting for our attention. Sitting down to have a meal together as a family means video-games, texting with friends, watching TV, drawing, reading, and any other form of leisure activity or even work has to stop momentarily, so we became really good at eating in a hurry so we could bolt back to our activity of choice. Having a meal together not only takes intentionality, it takes effort too, and the truth is that sometimes we’re too tired at the end of the day to put in the effort.

The same is true in my relationship with God. I enjoy spending time with Him, but I often have a ton of other things fighting for my attention. Just like my family, I had become really good at sitting with God in a hurry so I could go on to my next activity. I am not always aware or appreciative of God’s intentionality and effort to spend time with me, and He used my desire to bond with my family to relate once more how He feels about me.

I was immediately reminded of Chris Tomlin’s song “The Table”, I love that song! Since then, I started playing that song anytime I’m preparing to have a meal with my family. It reminds me that God sets a table for me everyday, and on His menu there is peace, contentment, patience, authority, confidence, joy, strength, or whatever I need to get through my day. He sets a table everyday for you too with a personalized menu just for you. I pray we take His invitation to feast at His table.

Your turn!

• Set a date and a time to invite your kids to share a special meal with you.
• Make their favorite meal and set a pretty table.
• Share with them about God’s open invitation to sit at His table anytime, and the benefits of choosing to sit at His table as discussed above.
• Share with them an example from your own life of how spending time in God’s presence empowered you to get through a difficult time. What was it from His menu that satisfied your need?
• Lead by example.