Table of Hope
“No king is saved by the size of his army; no warrior escapes by his great strength. A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save. But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in His unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine. We wait in hope for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name. May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in You.” Psalm 33:17-22
The blueberry bread tasted much better than normal, because it was shared with friends on the deck overlooking the Gulf of Mexico. These special mornings that we share once a year are never taken lightly. Both laughter and tears, old and new traditions are abundant at this table. Ease and freedom to be yourself are not only welcomed, but encouraged. This morning’s table conversations went from barefoot summers as a child, to locating enough gasoline to get back to Georgia. We spoke of the gasoline pipeline shutdown, he bombings in Israel, and the leadership of our country. Unlike the fluffy bread that we ate, the table seemed heavy and weighty.
We posed questions of what life is going to look like in coming months and years.
None of us spoke of the size of our army or the strength of our horses, but we did discuss our plans, our abilities, our savings and our provisions or lack of. My thoughts quickly raced to the containers of gasoline and water lining the garage wall. There in the tiny white cabinet is rice, beans, noodles and canned goods. And of course we all have left over Covid toilet paper.
When facing a crisis, it is common and wise to gather provisions for hard times, but as the scripture tells us, these things are a vain hope for deliverance. There is no great strength that can save us, except the Lord our God. He is the one who delivers us and keeps us alive in the middle of any famine.
Life has proven this to be true. We lean against the wall that only tumbles. We think a particular desired purchase will bring satisfaction, but soon it crumbles, rusts, wears out. We boast in our good health, only to awaken to a frightening weakness. Our knowledge fails us and our strength liquifies like a popsicle on a hot summer day.
The weighty table conversation quickly shifted as we began to speak of the goodness of God and our personal experiences of His wonderful love. The heavy weight became light and joyful as we turned our focus to Him. Our hearts began to rejoice as we celebrated the goodness of God. Our hope is in the Lord and in His unfailing love.
We declare with the psalmist:
“We wait in hope for the Lord. He is our help and our shield. In Him our hearts rejoice.”
You are invited to join us at His table of hope joy, trust and worship. All who are weary, afraid, doubting…come feast with us at His table full of provision.