GOD PROVIDES!

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

Sitting down to a meal shows the confident and serene attitude of those lead by this Shepherd. Even in the face of extreme opposition, the Psalmist conveys how God's gracious provision overshadows the enemy's threat!

In 1735 John Wesley was on board a ship on his way to Georgia in the American Colonies when a violent storm came up suddenly. During the storm, the main mast of the ship broke, and passengers began to cry out in fear. Wesley, who had been afraid of dying since his youth, could not help but notice the calm assurance of a group of Moravian Brethren. In the face of what seemed to be impending doom, the Moravians were calmly singing hymns and praying. Wesley at that moment in his life was like so many of us, though we many times refuse to acknowledge it. He was trusting his own religious "experience" and efforts. The Moravians were trusting Jesus Christ solely. After that near death experience in the Atlantic, Wesley sought out the Moravians to find their secret. He found that their secret was not a "secret," but a Person. He realized that he was not only saved by faith in Jesus Christ alone; he was kept by faith in Jesus Christ alone. The rest of his life, instead of trying to prepare his own table, he allowed Jesus to "prepare a table before him."