Following the Good Shepherd: The Feast - Day 3: Ryan Shook
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” And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:19 (NIV)
Your needs matter. The basic necessities of food, shelter, and clothing matter to God. When one of His children is crying out from a place of desperation, He sees and hears that. We see in Matthew 5:26 (NIV) “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”. If God cares about the smallest part of creation being fed, then how much more will He demonstrate His goodness and mercy to us who bare His image. The Good Shepherd takes care of His flock and watches over His sheep. In Psalms 23 we read how Jesus “prepares a table for us”. We have a seat and a place where we are thought of, and our needs are satisfied in full. Our daily decision must be to sit at the table that God has made for us.
Are your needs met? It may not feel like it in this moment or you may genuinely be hurting and desperate for a miracle. God’s heart and favor is upon you in the center of your pain. It may not feel this way, but God is with you. Jesus is preparing a table for you. He is preparing a table for each of us even as our worlds may be falling apart. There are lies out there stating: “when you are good enough, you can join Jesus” and “when you have prayed enough and gotten your life on the proper course, then you can commune with Christ.” The truth is far more lovely and merciful. God isn’t waiting for you to jump through religious hoops before you are welcomed at the table. In Psalm 23, Christ is setting the table for us in “the presences of enemies”. Right in the thick of your darkness, Jesus is asking you to join Him for a heavenly feast.
The feast we may have with Christ while here on this side of Heaven might not look how we would like. Jesus promises to give us the desires of our hearts (Psalm 37). At first glance, many people look at their desires for a new car, better job, or better health and wonder why they aren’t met; why they haven’t won the lottery. God’s promise to give us desires is more attuned to changing those desires altogether. That what you desire and need slowly becomes akin to the heart of Christ. Every day we slowly begin to want less and less the things of this world and start to desire the things of Heaven. The desires of our hearts change. And with that, Jesus pours out so many blessings, that our cup cannot contain it. It spills over!
Please spend the next few moments thinking about your desires. Are they lined up with your own heart or the heart of Christ? As humans, we will fall short and begin desiring a different kind of feast than the one Jesus has for us. Something quicker and easier. These fast foods will never satisfy the deep hunger our souls have. It is a beautiful thing that Chris’s cup for you is overflowing and never ending. Right now, offer up your heart to God. Offer up the desires you have and pray that they would become more in tune with Jesus’ desires. If you are hurting and in desperate need, reach out to God. Pray for that miracle you need. Be looking because your miracle is on the way. It may not arrive how you would like it to, but it is coming. Our feast is coming. Even in the darkest hours, Jesus is still asking us to sit at His table and eat.