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Previous Challenge Entry
Topic: Blessed (11/29/04)
TITLE: A deer came out of the woods
By Alice Lewis
12/05/04
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A deer came out of the woods.
He prepareth a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. Ps.23:1 That speaks of blessings that God is wanting to bestow upon all of us. The only bad part of this verse is that we have to eat it in the presence of our enemy. It would feel much safer to eat in the presence of our friends.
Once a deer came out of the woods to graze in a nearby alfalfa field. Leaves and
wild grasses in the woods are okay, but when there is an alfalfa field nearby, why not go there and feast upon it? Several other deer followed him out to the field and were happily grazing when suddenly the lead deer stopped dead still and looked my way. She stopped grazing. I was watching her out of my living room window. She was sensing human eyes upon her. In the face of potential danger her first line of defense was to be so still as to be invisible, no more feasting on the blessings of that lush alfalfa field in front of her.
We humans act that way more than we would like to admit. When the enemy of our soul, the devil, appears on our field, that is in our circumstances, we are like that deer. We freeze in fear. We forget all about feasting on the Word of God or praying or praising. Our eyes are focused on the enemy. He’s out there to get us. Even our prayer is focused on the enemy, on the problem he has caused us, or is threatening to cause us. "Lord, make it go away!" We are totally incapacitated. In that state we could spiritually starve to death.
We don’t have to be that way if we remember that we have a Good Shepherd whose job it is to take care of the enemy. Unlike that deer, when the enemy appears on our fields we must continue to eat from the table of the Lord’s blessings no matter where it is set up. It is our job to be filled with the Holy Spirit, to continue to feast on the Word, to become strong. Only then can we receive the real blessings, both physical and spiritual.
A
Joy cup
He gives me.
My table he sets.
What can the enemy do?