"The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup, you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places, indeed I have a beautiful inheritance. I bless the Lord who gives me counsel, in the night my heart also instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me, because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart will be glad, and my whole being rejoices, my flesh also dwells securely. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption, you make known to me the path of life, in your presence there is fullness of joy, at your right hand are pleasures forevermore." (Psalm 16:5-11 ESV)
In my previous post I mentioned that my mom and I loved to have coffee together in the mornings where we could talk about life and she would counsel me in the ways of God. Today I would like to talk about how healing it is when we spend time with God in the same way as I did with my mom in the mornings.
Whether my mother knew it or not, she not only blessed me with precious time spent with her, but she also gave me a spiritual tool that I am learning to practice with God every day. When she and I talked about the Bible and the things of God together she instilled within me a way to begin healing with Jesus after she was sent home to Heaven. She taught me where to turn to when my cup was empty and my spirit needed renewed.
My mom and I are both big coffee drinkers. It was always super funny when we would sit down together with our mugs in our hands because I was the one who usually would make the coffee and I liked my coffee strong where she liked it weak. I would never tell her that I made it stronger than what she liked because I got a big kick out of hearing her say, "Erica, you made the coffee too strong again, I can taste the coffee." She always preferred the flavor of the coffee creamer over the flavor of the coffee so that is why it was always so funny to me. And I would reply, "Mom, I can't live off that weak stuff you call coffee." But no matter how strong the coffee was, we always had a good time together. The table was our place. The place where we could come to laugh and partake in the fullness of the joy of Lord together.
Now, since she has been called home, I have learned to come to the table with Jesus in the mornings. When my heart is heavy I come to him with the heaviness of my spirit. Together, he and I wrestle with the hard feelings. I tell him what I am feeling, I lay down every worry at his feet, every concern. Even when I can't describe how I am feeling, or I feel so overwhelmed that I don't even have the words to speak, I still take the time to come to the table in the mornings so that Jesus can minister to my soul. Sometimes simply sitting with Jesus and not saying a word is one of the best ways to quiet the anxious thoughts of the mind and bring healing to the spirit. But not only do I lay down the worries and concerns for the day down at the table, but I also spend that time with Jesus talking with him about his ways and his goodness. I rejoice in him and his word now more than ever before. It fills a place within me that has felt empty at times when grief and pain have tried to drain me.
The table has become where I get my cup filled by his spirit. Where I can meet Jesus and learn how to be filled with the fullness of his joy again. There are quite a few places in scripture where Jesus met with the hurting and the broken at the table. One of my favorite stories where this takes place is the story of Zacchaeus.
"He entered Jericho and was passing through. And behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and was rich. And he was seeking to see who Jesus was, but on account of the crowd he could not, because he was small in stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up a sycamore tree to see him, for he was about to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for I must stay at your house today." So he hurried and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all grumbled, "He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner." And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold." And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost. (Luke 19:1-9 ESV)
For those that don't know, tax collectors were considered to be one of the most despised groups of people in Jewish culture because they worked for the Roman government. They were often considered to be outcasts in Jewish society. So Zacchaeus would have been considered one of those tax collectors who were outcasts. The Bible doesn't tell us how Zacchaeus knew Jesus but it does say that he was seeking to see who Jesus was which means somehow he heard about how Jesus took in the hurting, the broken and the outcasts and invited them to the table in fellowship with him. And because Zacchaeus was seeking Jesus, wanting to receive and partake in the salvation and joy of Lord, Jesus actually invited him to the table. Invited him to be healed and to be filled with the healing and joy of the Lord.
Today, I want to encourage you with this truth: Jesus is inviting you to the table. Come to the table and fill your cup with his spirit. He wants to give you the strength, joy, and healing that you need for each day. He wants to give your soul counsel like a parent gives counsel, like my mom would give me counsel. Whatever you need for the day, all you need to do is come to the table and receive it.
Dear Lord, Thank you for inviting me to be filled at the table. Thank you for providing a way for me to heal. Teach me how to come to the table to receive your joy, strength, and peace for each day. Teach me to seek you everyday. Show me how to come to the table daily so that your spirit can fill me up. In Jesus name, amen.
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