Jennifer was asked to appear on QVC not just once, but TWICE to feature her Psalm 23 Bible study. It was an incredible opportunity to tell women around the world about our Good Shepherd. Watch the segment here.

Learn more about this seven session video-based Bible study, Psalm 23: The Shepherd With Me. Watch session one and get the first week of study for FREE here.

I interrupted and said, “That’s for sure!”

“I didn’t finish,” he continued. “I was saying you’re a messenger.”

Oh, friend, I had heard “mess” when the truth is I am a messenger.

Has that ever happened to you too?

Sometimes we don’t hear the truth because a louder voice is shouting at us and we’re listening. And, maybe we’ve listened for so long, that even when a truthful encouragement begins, we interrupt it and finish it with the lie we’ve believed.

Why do we do that?

It’s because we have given the enemy a seat at our table. That’s how Louie Giglio describes it.

Psalm 23 tells us God prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies, and that table has only two seats—one for you and one for God.

God readies this table before you and it is in front of your enemy, not with your enemy! He doesn’t give your enemy a seat there. The enemy is banished.

So, your enemy has to stand back and watch with his mouth watering. He can glare at you, jeer and point fingers, but his taunts and comments should be powerless because they should be drowned out by the One Who sits with you and speaks truth and love to you.

The table the Lord prepares for you is one of honor and blessing.

It comes in the form of your life—your ordinary, daily life—with Him. He sets before you all you need to be nourished and blessed. He gives the perfect portion of His grace and truth each day to sustain you. And, He not only prepares it, but He invites you to come and be blessed there.

But your enemy is a crafty accuser. He’s a scheming stumbling block who seeks to devour your joy, kill your confidence, steal your hope, and tempt you to believe that his way of living and thinking are better than the Lord’s.

So, if you hear ugly lies and disparaging words, no matter what is being said, maybe it’s time to check out your table? It could be you have dragged an extra chair along with you. (I sure had!)

In other words, maybe you’re letting the enemy mess with the blessing, favor, and communion you have with and from the Lord. You’re letting Satan replace God’s Truths with his slimy lies. You’re receiving his condemnation more than God’s care.

So, look at your life, and consider if you’ve given your enemy a seat at the table.

Pause here and really think and pray about this—just you and your Shepherd. Because, sometimes, we don’t even realize that Satan has pulled up a chair.

Are you experiencing the favor, blessing, and companionship God has prepared just for you? Or, is the enemy spoiling the banquet?

Ask the Lord to make you aware of your real enemy. Ask Him to turn up the volume so you can hear what the chatter you listen to really is.

If your thoughts are condemning, accusatory, bitter, hopeless, dark, or ugly, girl, it’s time to send an uninvite! That is the voice of your enemy and he is not allowed to sit at the table. If he stays, he will steal all the blessing and delight and joy your Shepherd is serving you.

Ask yourself:

• Is this the voice of my Heavenly Father or my enemy?
• Can what I am saying to myself or hearing in my head pass through the Philippians 4:8 filter?
• Is it true?
• Is it pure?
• Is it right?

If it isn’t God’s voice speaking, uninvite it.

God’s words to you will line up with Galatians 5:22—words of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

Anything that disagrees with that sweet Holy Spirit fruit doesn’t come from your Shepherd! Think of it this way, the fruit of the Spirit is always on the menu!

God prepares a table for you because He loves you and He wants to bless and celebrate you. Don’t let the enemy steal the abundance.

Listen for the One voice sitting at your table with you—the voice of the God Who loves you. His voice will always celebrate you, comfort you, and bring you confidence.

How are you hearing the voice of the Lord celebrate, comfort, or bring you confidence today?

Even though I’d turned on both dresser lamps, I couldn’t detect any light. Usually, I could recognize at least a little light with my left eye.

I placed my hand on one of the bulbs to make sure it was working. It was warm. If the lamp was on, the problem wasn’t the light bulb.

My heart sank when it hit me.

This could only mean one thing—the few fragments of retina I once had in my left eye were now gone. It’s not like there was real vision there, to begin with, but at least it wasn’t the vast blackness of nothing at all.

I had lost the majority of my sight as a teenager because of a degenerative disease called Retinitis Pigmentosa. Over the years, blindness had been hard, but at least I had a little bit of light perception in my left eye.

It wasn’t enough to function, but that little bit of awareness of light did give me a reprieve from total darkness. I could tell when it was daylight. And, if I got close to a lamp, I could usually know if it was on or not.

But, standing in front of the guest room dresser that day, I suddenly felt trapped in a claustrophobic cave, overwhelmed by dread and loss.

My eyes welled up with tears, and my throat tightened. I didn’t know how to put into words what I felt.

Grief. Disappointment. Fear. Loneliness.

It was as if I had stepped into a long, dark valley, and I felt a level of aloneness that I hadn’t experienced before.

We’ve all been there. We’ve all been in that place, that situation, that heartache, that trial where we feel utterly alone. We may be surrounded by people or professionals or family or friends, but we still feel alone.

There is just something about those valley times in our lives that bring out our sense of isolation—like nobody can enter in with us.

But, my friend, even if you feel alone, you are not alone. God is with you in your valley.

“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me” (Psalm 23:4a).

“You are with me.” You. Me. That means God is with you, right in the hard middle of your valley—as if it is just you and your Lord. As if you are the only one the Shepherd is caring for at this very moment.

And, sometimes it’s those valley experiences that move us from knowing about God to really knowing God.

If you read all of Psalm 23, you’ll find that something interesting happens in the verse about the valley. The first three verses of Psalm 23 use words like “He” and “His” when the Psalmist talks about his Shepherd.

But, sister, when David steps into the valley of verse 4, he no longer uses distant words like “He” and “His.” He uses up-close words like “You” and “Your.”

“You are with me.”

God is with you too—and when your valley gets dark, He gets personal.

Let’s pause and get practical. Since He is with us, it sure would be nice to feel like it, right?

Faith isn’t a feeling, though. It’s a fact. And, God’s presence is not confirmed by how you feel either; it is confirmed by faith.

So, when you are in that valley and you feel alone, here are two ways to help you recognize His presence—right there with you. These will help you focus on the fact of His presence, rather than on your feeling of aloneness.

1. Be Still

“Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalm 46:10)

I remember standing in front of that dresser for what felt like hours that day. I just stayed in that room, in that place in my heart, and got still before God.

As I did, I began to feel God with me—His comfort, His love, His empathy, His compassion. I felt less alone.

Often our response to valleys is to run fast, spin, plan or worry, and look for the nearest off-ramp. But, if you’re in a valley, be still with your Shepherd.

When we become still, we become aware of His presence.

Take time, at least five minutes every day, and be still with Him. Read Scripture out loud. Yes, out loud.

Why?

Because, when you speak His Word and hear His Word it requires that you are still and focused.

Girl, this helps me be still. You can’t focus on your valley when you are focusing on quoting Scripture. Be still so you can know He is with you.

2. Sing Praise

“I will sing to the LORD as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.” (Psalm 104:33)

Yep, sing. God inhabits, resides in, is present in, and is situated within your praise (Psalm 22:3).

You don’t have to be a good singer or a loud singer (especially if you aren’t a good singer). But, when you sing, your every note builds a throne and God rushes in to sit on it.

Worship is the way you draw near to God. You will sense His nearness in your valley when you call on His Name, praise Him, and be still before Him.

God is with you in your valley.

My friend, sometimes we can’t see clearly the lessons and how deeply we are loved and cared for while we are navigating the valley. Sometimes we have to get through it to understand what we got from it.

So, if you are in the dark middle of your valley, don’t try to come up with some grand lesson or insight if you don’t have one. Just rest in your Shepherd. Let Him carry you through. Take time to be still and sing.

I know you’ll get through this, sister! Your valley won’t last forever, but God’s faithfulness to you will. So, walk on, woman of faith!

If you are in a valley right now and could use prayer, share with us in the comments. We will pray for you.

Sister, as we study Psalm 23 together, you will be reminded that the Shepherd is with you and you are safe with your Shepherd in every situation, in every season.

Learn More and Order Your Member Book or Leader Kit Here

Plus, you’ll find lots of fun Psalm 23 freebies, too!

Oh, girl, I am not exaggerating. If anyone else thinks theirs is bad, I will put this casserole up against it—and, I guarantee you, it would take home the title of “World’s Worst Casserole.”

The recipe called for milk, but I ran out and used buttermilk instead. Bad idea. Truly, it was the absolutely worst casserole ever!

But, my sweet family tried to be so mannerly and gracious as they swallowed each sour, sticky bite! After all, it was Christmas Eve and they were on their best holiday behavior.

When I called my dad to wish him a merry day, I told him about my Christmas Eve catastrophe, and how I had made the worst casserole. He said, “No, you didn’t. You made a great memory!”

My dad was an expert at extracting the good out of every single thing! He taught me how to create “Goodness Grabbers.” (Though, it probably would have been good if he had also taught me how to follow a recipe!)

Do you know what a Goodness Grabber is?

Goodness Grabbers are word magnets that attract the good in any situation. They’re words or phrases that extract the best out of even the worst circumstances.

There are plenty of things in our lives that are not-so-good, and that’s why we need Goodness Grabbers. They help us to see the goodness that is always with us.

In Psalm 23, David wrote, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life…” (Psalm 23:6). That word “surely” can also be translated as “only.” In other words, only goodness and mercy will follow you.

Really?

Let’s face it. Not everything that happens in our lives feels good. It doesn’t always feel like goodness is hot on our heels when bad things happen.

But, when we have the eternal perspective of faith, we can then see Psalm 23:6 through the lens of Romans 8:28: “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

God uses the not-so-good for our good. This means that even if something isn’t good, God is able to use it to bring out good and to work for our good. And, for that reason, it is “only goodness” that follows us every day of our lives.

So, if we want to hone in on the goodness, we need to adopt some Goodness Grabbers so we won’t overlook the best in our lives.

Just like my dad turned a gross casserole into a great memory through his choice to see good, we can do the same even in the more consequential moments of our lives.

We can pull out a Goodness Grabber, and it will help align our hearts with Romans 8:28. It will help us see beyond the bad moment to the good that never leaves us.

So, here are some of the Goodness Grabbers I’ve learned to say:

When things just aren’t going well and don’t seem to be getting better, I say … “It could be worse.”

When I’m asked to do something and after I said yes, I feel a big “uh oh, why didn’t I say no,” I say … “I don’t have to do this. I get to.”

When I feel the pinch of giving more time or money or effort, I say … “Generosity is never a bad choice.”

When blindness is wearing me out, and I feel the big urge to quit, I say … “Earth is short, and heaven is long.”

When something I face feels bigger than me, and beyond my ability or experience, I say … “It’s not a challenge; it’s an adventure.”

On the days I feel creaky, tired, and faced with the reality that I am getting older, I say … “This is the youngest I’ll ever be.”

You get the idea!

What we say about a given situation affects how we feel about that situation and, consequently, how that situation affects us.

Goodness Grabbers don’t make bad things go away and aren’t an excuse to live in denial. But, Goodness Grabbers can help strip the destructive power from a difficult situation and infuse you with a hopeful perspective instead. It allows you to see the goodness following you through every situation you face.

Even in our worst circumstances, there is still, always, something good.

So, stop today and feel God’s goodness bump right into you! Create some goodness grabbers you can use to experience the good … only good … always good.

My prayer for you is that you are inspired to find your own Goodness Grabbers. And I’m also praying that my Bible study, Psalm 23: The Shepherd With Me (LifeWay, August 2018), will help you further explore the good things God has for you.

What are some of your Goodness Grabbers? Share with us so we can have plenty to choose from!

One evening, my friend, Mike, popped in at dinner time and Rose invited him in. They visited for a few moments … that is, until Mike noticed her kitchen table was set for two.

“Oh Rose,” he said, “I didn’t realize you were having a guest for dinner. I will scoot out.”

She stopped him, and explained that ever since her husband died over 30 years earlier she always set two places at her table.

Mike assumed the second place setting was to remind her of her late husband, but Rose corrected him.

“Oh, no,” she shared, “I set a place at my table every evening for Jesus. I sit with Him, listen to Him, and expect Him to be with me.”

Oh, girl, don’t you just love that?! I know I do!

For most of us, tables are special places. We gather at them, spend time together, and—like Rose—even invite Jesus to join us at them. (Although, most of us don’t literally set a place for Him, but maybe we should start!?)

Did you know that in Scripture, tables are meaningful too?

One of my favorite tables in Scripture is in Psalm 23. David compares God to a generous host who prepares a very special table for us.

David doesn’t mean a table at a five-star restaurant or one carefully set with your grandma’s fine china. This isn’t our modern 21st-century type of dinner. Instead, this table is the kind you’d find at an ancient Hebrew banquet.

Here, a wealthy, benevolent host would invite the people he favored to a feast at his table. And, when he did, that meant they were going to have all they needed, they were under his protection, and they’d experience all the honor and blessing that came from being with him.

The table represented provision, protection, and presence.

Even though David wrote this thousands of years ago, God’s “table” is one you and I are still invited to daily. God offers us the opportunity to partake of the good things He has for us.

And, do you know what the best part is? You and I are always welcome. There is always a seat at His table for us.

Our invitation to sit at God’s table has nothing to do with our merit—what we bring to the table. Our invitation is based on God. His character sets the table and His grace saves us a seat.

Have you accepted His invitation?

Accepting God’s invitation to sit at His table is our way of receiving all He wants to give us.

Here are three areas I see His table in my daily life—and I hope you do too.

1. God’s Table Represents Provision

“And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).

When you pull up a seat at God’s table, you receive His provision. Sometimes God’s provision is obvious to us. We may see it in our family, our house or job, or in an answer to prayer.

When life is painful, though, sometimes His provision is more difficult to recognize, and we have to look hard to see it. But, sister, if we look, we will spot it.

I recently saw His provision in a light therapy box. I’ve been struggling with depression and learned it could likely be from my eyes not processing light—kind of like Seasonal Affective Disorder every day of the year! (For my new readers, I am blind, that’s why this is a big deal!) This news is hopeful, so I consider the light therapy box God’s provision.

2. God’s Table Represents Protection

“Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge.” (Psalm 16:1)

When you accept the invitation to sit at God’s table, you are saying, “I expect to receive God’s protection.” God promises His protection to those who take refuge in Him.

There are times we need spiritual protection from the darts of the enemy, or we need physical protection from danger. We may even need protection from worry or stress or unbelief.

I travel a lot and I’m aware of His protection every time I get into a car or board a plane. God’s watchful eye and protective hand are evident to me all the time!

3. God’s Table Represents Presence

“The LORD is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed” (Deuteronomy 31:8).

Sitting at God’s table reminds us that God is with us. We are never truly alone or isolated. Like Rose, we can talk to Him as if He is walking with us, sitting with us, and conversing with us—because He is.

Not too long ago, I was listening to John 14, and I felt His nearness. I heard His voice reassuring me that He was speaking to me, and reminding me that He had overcome the world and I could have peace in Him.

Experiencing God’s presence throughout the day in all sorts of ways is the way we “sit at His table.”

Every day, you and I wake up fully dressed in the garment of salvation. Which means, His provision, protection, and presence are prepared for us daily. So pull up a chair and enjoy your seat at God’s table today!

My prayer for you is that you are enjoying your seat at God’s table. And I’m also praying that my Bible study, Psalm 23: The Shepherd With Me, will help you further explore the good things God has for you.

What’s one way you have noticed God’s provision, protection, or presence in your life today?