You Prepare a Table Before Me
Don't be afraid of tomorrow. God is already there.
The “table” of which David speaks, according to shepherd and writer Phillip Keller, is a plateau of land where sheep can safely graze. He explains:
“Early in the season, even before all the snow has been melted by spring sunshine, [a shepherd] will go ahead and make preliminary survey trips into … rough, wild country. He will look it over with great care, keeping ever in mind its best use for his flock during the coming season. Then just before the sheep arrive he will make another expedition or two to prepare the tableland for them. He takes along a supply of salt and minerals to be distributed over the range at strategic spots for the benefit of the sheep during the summer. The intelligent, careful manager will also decide well ahead of time where his camps will be located so the sheep have the best bed grounds. He goes over the range carefully to determine how vigorous the grass and upland vegetation is ... He will check to see if there are poisonous weeds appearing, and if so, he will plan his grazing program to avoid them, or take drastic steps to eradicate them.” (Keller, p. 105)
The word “prepare” gives us comforting confidence that our Good Shepherd Jesus has been ahead of us in every situation. Like the bumper sticker that says, “Don’t be afraid of tomorrow, God is already there.”
Jesus has walked ahead of us in doing good works, and now we can follow his path with precise confidence that what we are doing is right. Jesus has marched ahead of us into battle with Satan, and prepared the way for us to fight evil with great courage and Goliath-like confidence. Jesus, the firstborn from the dead, already blazed the path of life for us through the darkness of death. Today, he continues to make all things ready in us and for us, that where he is we also will be.
PRAYER: Jesus, I can’t even get ready in time every morning, much less be prepared for the spiritual struggles I will face during the day. I’m so glad you are my Good Shepherd. I’m so glad you prepare a safe place for me. When I follow you, I am prepared. When I listen to you, I have no fear of my enemies. I am ready. Amen.