From the Valley to the Table (Psalm 23:5-6)

Hook: The Emotional Story

There’s a moment in life when you realize you’re no longer fighting for survival—you’re sitting at a table you never could’ve earned. Imagine walking into a banquet, expecting to be a servant, only to realize your name is on a seat at the head table. The feast isn’t just for you—it’s prepared for you.

David knew what it felt like to run. He spent years as a fugitive, eating scraps in caves while Saul hunted him down. He was an outcast, a forgotten son, a man whose enemies surrounded him. But when he writes Psalm 23, something has shifted. He’s no longer hiding—he’s feasting. His enemies are still there, but they’re not a threat anymore.

The same God who walked with him through the valley now prepares a table before him. The same hands that led him through darkness now anoint his head with oil. His cup isn’t just full—it overflows.

And the same is true for us.

ME: My Personal Struggle

For so long, I lived as if I had to fight for my place in life. I thought success came by hustling harder, proving myself, and pushing through every obstacle with my own strength. The idea of resting in God’s provision? That felt foreign.

Maybe you’ve felt this too. Like you’re always in a battle—proving, striving, defending. You’re waiting for the next attack, the next problem, the next thing to go wrong. Even when good things happen, you can’t fully enjoy them because you’re bracing for impact.

But David shows us a different way.

"Begin as you mean to go on, and go on as you began, and let the Lord be all in all to you." — Charles Spurgeon

The invitation isn’t just to survive—it’s to feast. To sit at the table God has prepared. To trust that His goodness and mercy are chasing after us, not our failures, not our regrets.

WE: Our Shared Struggle

We all know what it’s like to live in survival mode. We expect the worst, defend ourselves, and work tirelessly to secure our future. Society tells us:

“You are what you achieve.” If you’re not producing, performing, or advancing, you’re falling behind.

“You have to fight for what’s yours.” No one is going to hand you anything—you have to take it.

“Rest is for the weak.” If you slow down, someone else will pass you.

But David’s words challenge this thinking. He tells us that our security doesn’t come from our work—but from God’s presence. That victory isn’t in striving, but in surrender.

"Hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life in our day. You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life." — Dallas Willard

Society tells us that victory comes through striving, but God shows us that true victory comes through surrender.

GOD: What the Bible Says (Psalm 23:5-6)

David writes:

"You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." — Psalm 23:5-6

Three things stand out in this passage:

1. God Prepares the Table (Rest in His Provision)

David doesn’t say we prepare the table—God does. The feast isn’t something we have to fight for—it’s something God has already set before us.

Jesus echoes this in Luke 12:22-24, saying, “Do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. Consider the ravens: they do not sow or reap, yet God feeds them.”

When we sit at God’s table, we stop striving and start receiving.

"You will never glory in God till first of all God has killed your glorying in yourself." — Charles Spurgeon

2. God Anoints Us (Live from His Calling)

In ancient times, anointing was a sign of blessing, calling, and favor. God isn’t just inviting us to the table—He’s marking us as His own.

2 Corinthians 1:21-22 says, “Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts.”

We don’t have to fight for our place—God has already chosen us.

"The table is not a place of striving, but a place of intimacy." — Jon Tyson

3. Our Cup Overflows (Walk in His Abundance)

God doesn’t just give us enough—He gives us more than we could ask or imagine.

John 10:10 says, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

When we live from abundance instead of scarcity, we can bless others.

"Abundance is found not in what we store up, but in what we give away." — Jon Tyson

YOU: What Should You Do About This?

If you find yourself stuck in survival mode, constantly striving, and never feeling secure, here’s what you can do:

1. Sit at the Table (Practice: Sabbath Rest)

Stop striving for a moment. Take a day, an hour, a morning—where you cease producing and simply receive.

Analogy: Imagine someone running on a treadmill that never stops. No matter how fast they go, they can’t reach the finish line. That’s how the world operates—always pushing, never resting. But God invites us to step off the treadmill and sit at His table.

"God is not in a hurry. You are. That’s why you are anxious and God is not." — Dallas Willard

2. Trust God’s Anointing (Practice: Daily Surrender in Prayer)

Pray each morning: "Lord, I don’t have to fight for my place today. You’ve already chosen me."

Analogy: Imagine a person who’s been shipwrecked on an island, barely surviving on whatever food they can find. One day, a rescue team arrives and takes them back to civilization. But instead of embracing their new life, they keep sneaking scraps of food into their pockets, afraid they’ll starve again. That’s how many of us live—still in survival mode, when God has already set a table before us.

"If God be for you, who can be against you?" — Charles Spurgeon

3. Let Your Cup Overflow (Practice: Radical Generosity)

Give from what you have—whether time, love, money, or encouragement. When you live as if your cup overflows, you begin to see that it truly does.

Analogy: Imagine two people holding cups. One holds their cup tightly, afraid they’ll run out. The other freely pours into others, knowing their source is unlimited. Which one experiences true abundance?

"A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed." — Proverbs 11:25

Closing Vision: A Better Future

Imagine a world where people weren’t fighting for their worth but living from it. Imagine a world where the table was a place of belonging instead of competition. Imagine a world where, instead of surviving, we were overflowing.

What if our lives became a reflection of the Shepherd’s care—marked by peace instead of anxiety, trust instead of fear, abundance instead of scarcity? What if our communities looked more like a feast than a battlefield, where no one had to earn their seat, where grace was freely given, and where love overflowed like a cup that never ran dry?

This is the invitation of Psalm 23. It’s not just a poetic promise—it’s a reality we are called to walk in. We don’t have to exhaust ourselves trying to secure what God has already provided. We don’t have to live in fear of losing what He has already anointed us with. And we don’t have to strive for more when our cup is already overflowing.

The question is: will we trust Him enough to sit down?

God’s table is before you. His anointing is upon you. His goodness and mercy are chasing you. So, take a deep breath. Lay down your weapons. Stop running.

And feast.