You Don't Have to Fight For a Seat at the Table.

When I think back to middle school and high school, one of the memories that sticks out to me the most is lunchtime… shocker, I know. Growing up as a military child, I was always moving about every two years, so that meant a new school, a new group of friends, and a new… lunch table. I can vividly remember walking into the lunchroom on the first day of school, not knowing anyone except for maybe that one person I frantically tried to become friends with in first period thinking that I maybe might have at least one person to sit with. I would walk around, trying not to make eye contact with anyone, worrying that if I were to sit down I might take someone’s seat; or worse, just be rejected completely and have to find another spot. It’s truly amazing the amount of anxiety and insecurity that would come along with simply sitting down at a table in a room full of people.Thinking back on these types of situations led me to the humble reminder of the simple truth that is the gospel:You don’t have to fight for a seat at the table.Psalms 23:5 says: "You prepare a table for me in the midst of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows."This verse is one of the sweetest reminders of such a commonly forgotten truth. As humans, a lot of the time we can’t help but feel unworthy, inadequate, or not enough; it’s one of the downfalls of the sin in which we are trapped. No matter how many times we go to church, how often we read our bible, or how many times we pray each day, not a single one of us has achieved the long-sought-after perfection that often surrounds the ideal “Christian,” and none of us ever will.We have been bought by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, and that has nothing to do with what we have done, but all to do with what He has done. You are His precious child, there is nothing that brings Him more joy than you pulling up a chair to His table. He looks at you with a smiling face and an outstretched arm each and every day, end of story.Not only does Jesus guarantee our spot at His table, He also makes a promise that He is preparing this table right in front of our enemies. What this means is that Jesus may not take you out of the storm you’re weathering right now, but the Bible guarantees us that He will be standing right there, weathering that storm with you. Every fear, every chain, every insecurity must fall at the feet of Jesus. It has no choice.So take heart, sister, knowing that you have a seat with your name written across it waiting for you in our home that is heaven. You have a Friend who will always welcome you with open arms to His table, so no need to worry about frantically trying to make that friend in first period. He delights in every second He gets to spend with you and that is something that the enemy can never take away from you.words and photo by Sarah MohanSaveSave