To the Table
With all that has gone on in the past week I think many of us feel a heaviness. I needed the encouragement of the songs and sermon last Sunday morning. Singing definitely brings me to the Throne of God. We sang Zach Williams song, “To The Table”. I love the lyrics, “And bring it all to the table. There's nothing He ain't seen before. For all your sin, all your sorrow, and your sadness. There's a Savior and He calls. Bring it all to the table. He can see the weight you carry. The fears that hold your heart But through the cross you've been forgiven. You're accepted as you are…” I know this but sometimes I have to be reminded of God’s goodness and faithfulness. As Pastor Tim said, sometimes God calms the storm and sometimes He calms His children. I am a child of God and He calmed me Sunday.
As Pastor Tim said Jesus has felt all of our experiences already. He experienced the pain and suffering of all of our sins. Psalm 22: 1-2, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest.” We remember Jesus saying this in Matthew 27: 46. If HE felt like that of course we do. What sounds discouraging doesn’t end that way. Remember God’s faithfulness. Psalm 22: 3-5 is the response, “Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One; you are the one Israel praises. In you our ancestors put their trust; they trusted and you delivered them. To you they cried out and were saved; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.” We are going to have tough, unsure times but we acknowledge Who is the Holy One and we acknowledge where to put our trust. When things are not going the way we thought they would, God has a better plan.
As I pondered, “Come To The Table'', I thought of growing up, when it was time for supper, Mom would always yell, “come to the table.” I was always first to go to the table because I loved to eat. I also loved to talk. Everyone would be finished and I had not started. Mom would tell me to be quiet and finish eating. Then there was my older brother. He could care less about eating. If he came to the table it may be to get something “on the run” or he would just not show up. God tells us, “come to the table” and we all answer in different ways. Maybe you run to the table and then do all the talking. Maybe you grab something and keep going. Maybe you don’t show up at all. Maybe you are so busy about the work, Martha, that you miss out on seeing Him! For years I just didn’t go to the table. I probably never heard the call, “come to the table.”
As I started spending more time at the table, I realized Jesus was healing my brokenness and taking my baggage one suitcase at a time. He was showing me I was worthy! He helped me to forgive and move forward. I wanted to spend more time with God. I realized that He had been calling me to the table all of my life. He had a better life for me - one full of joy! Proverbs 3: 5, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;" I began to understand that I really did not know what was going on but I just needed to keep trusting God. I began to want to find my will in His will. The best thing I did was fall in love with the One who came calling me to the table. Years later, I continue to grow and continue to fall in love with my Lord and Savior. I said “yes” to the “opportunity” and came to the table.
So when life gets tough and I feel fear creeping in I remember Who is faithful! I love Pastor Tim’s comment, “Don’t put a period where God puts a comma.” These tough times are just temporary, things will get better. Are we letting fear hold us back from what God has planned for us? 2 Timothy 1: 7, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." Are we letting shame hold us back? 1 John 1: 9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” There is peace, healing and restoration at the table. God wants us to come and sit in His presence. I believe the more time we spend at the table, the more deeply we fall in love with God. Will you say “yes” to coming to the table? He patiently waits on His children. God has a place at His table for you.