The Banquet Table

Life’s been hectic. Sick kids. Late nights. Too tired to get up for my daily quiet time with the Lord. Now I’m in my prayer closet on my knees, desperate for the Father’s touch. Life’s been so hard and I feel malnourished. Those still moments I steal away with my Father each morning feed my soul. They stock me full for the daily onslaught of bickering children, attitudes gone side-ways, and hiccups in my well ordered day.

Without those quiet times, I begin to feel like a refugee begging for a crumb from her Father’s plate. But what I don’t see, can’t fully grasp in those impoverished moments is the banquet table he places before me.

There are platters piled high with grace, tureens of his bountiful love, trenchers overflowing with mercy and loaf upon loaf of forgiveness. His goodness and peace spill off the table he has set for me. There is no end to the bounty.

But when my eyes are too focused on my daily problems, and though I still crave his touch and long to taste the sweetness of his love, I forget that that table is so near.

Instead I seek solace from other sources. Hoping that a friend will offer the right words of comfort, or perhaps a shopping spree will clear my mind and perk me up. The “maybe-this-will-make-me-feel-better” list is endless.

But if I turn just so, and the light is right, I catch a glimpse of the table He’s set for me. I run to it and eat hungrily, basking in his glory, his love, and his goodness that spills into my life and out to others. Life becomes amazingly wonderful once again and I feel safe-guarded in the minefield of life.

It’s a table I need to visit daily. A Father I need to sit still before daily. A table that meets all my needs and satisfies all my desires.

It’s a table and a Father waiting for you.