He Prepares A Table Before Me
“Then they spoke against God; they said, “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?”” Psalm 78:19
Wilderness- Can He? Can God prepare a table? Life as it comes to us says, “No! God is not able to provide in the midst of our empty places.” And we go on wandering. Looking for the answer to our need. Living with the pain of our desolation. Struggling with the demons.
If God is good, why is there wilderness? Why must I experience emptiness and desolation? Why do I have to struggle so hard to survive? The world says, “No, God can’t prepare a table. I have to do it myself.” Years later I realize how wrong I have been. But years later my skin is parched, my feet blistered, and my hands crippled. Unless God prepares the table in the wilderness, nothing that I do will satisfy my hunger.
“Oh, I know that God can provide for the man who is willing to live on nothing. But I have a family. I have a business. I have responsibilities. I can’t bury my head in the Bible and pretend that God will pay the bills. I have to go to work. I have to earn a living. After all, people are depending on me.”
Is that how you look at God’s provision? God takes care of the spiritual and then pushes you out the door to take care of the physical. If you believe that God is not intimately involved in every single aspect of your life, you are living in the wilderness and shouting to the creator, “You can’t prepare a table for me. After all, there is nothing in this place to work with.”
Do you know why we don’t see God providing? Because we won’t let Him. We see that we are in the wilderness and we immediately start importing resources, building protection and providing for ourselves. God provides for those who are willing to be emptied. That’s the purpose of wilderness. Emptying us of self-reliance. But we resist. Emptying is scary and painful. Emptying means confronting weakness, confusion and limitation. But emptying is essential if we want God to be the chef.
What are you doing with the wilderness in your life? Are you trying to construct a city to protect you or are you letting God drain you of self so that He can be the chef at your table?
