You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and lovingkindness will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. Psalm 23:5-6.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God says:
You have to feed to fight. I set a table before you in the presence of your enemies. Faith comes by hearing and hearing My Word. Romans 10:17. For the ear tests words as the palate tastes food. Job 34:3. Man does not live on bread alone but on every Word that comes from My mouth. I send My Word to heal you and deliver you from all your destructions (pits). Psalm 107:20. But you must eat it so it becomes part of your very being before you have the strength to overcome. In Hebrew you see this more clearly, the word for “food” or “bread” is “lechem” and the word for the verb “to fight” is “lacham.” They are spelled exactly the same, but the vowel sounds are different because one is a noun and one is a verb. Both are spelled: לחם
As we continue on your way to freedom with your good Shepherd, you see verse 5 of Psalm 23 is that He prepares a table before you in the presence of your enemies. And this is how He brought you out of the dark valley of the shadow of death, by the Word that strengthened you for the journey and turned your heart to that of a worshipper. Remember? The prophecy of Hosea—in the wilderness I would speak to your heart and in the valley of trouble would be a door of hope and you would sing there as you did in your youth. Hosea 2:14. As you did in your first love for Me. And that door had the Aleph Tav there marking it in the Hebrew. The door opened by My Word, and My Word became flesh, Yeshuah, and He is the door for the sheep. John 10:7. And the Holy Spirit is the doorkeeper. John 10:3. No one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 12:3.
I give you a banquet in the presence of your enemies, but it up to you to eat or not. Joshua told the Israelites that the enemies in the Promised Land would be as bread to them but no one wanted to feed and fight with Joshua, they cried in fear and retreated. Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done My will, you may receive what was promised. For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay. But My righteous one shall live by faith; and if he shrinks back, My soul has no pleasure in him. But you are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul. Hebrews 10:35-39.
And what else happens at that banquet I set before you where you feed on the Word you need? I anoint your head with oil. Priests and Kings were anointed under the Old Covenant by oil being poured on their heads from the shofar, that is, the ram’s horn. And, as with David, My Holy Spirit would come upon them to give them the skill for the work I gave them to do. Jesus has released you from your sins by His blood and made you a kingdom of priests unto Me, a royal priesthood. And you share His anointing as your Lord and High Priest, for you are members of His body and the anointing runs down from the head of the High Priest to the ends of his robe. And today I anoint all believers by giving you the mind of Christ. “Christ” merely means “anointed.” Same for the word “Messiah.” Christ is Greek and Messiah is Hebrew. And My Spirit was upon Jesus and I anointed Him. And I tell you that I anointed Him with the oil of joy. My joy is your strength. The anointing makes you strong and gives you power from on High. The anointing breaks the yoke and lifts the burden. And it is available to you if you care to pursue it. The mantle of Jesus has fallen on you, you are clothed in Christ. I have anointed you to do the works He did and greater. Why? Because He has poured out the Holy Spirit on you, you are clothed in power from on high. The more you rejoice in the anointing the more it increases in your life, until your cup overflows and you are filling everyone else’s cup too. Abundant life.
From the dark valley of the shadow of death, your Shepherd has led you through to abundant life. A life of overcoming your enemies by feeding on My Word until you are so anointed it overflows in power to go about doing good and healing all that are oppressed by the devil.
The devil comes only to steal, kill, and destroy, but your good Shepherd has sheltered you in the palm of His hand and no one can snatch you from there.
So how do you feed to fight? Look to Romans 10:8-10 and you will learn how. “The Word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith. And here is how you do it, “if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” As you have received Christ as Lord so walk in Him for everything. You hear and study the Word until your heart is filled with My Word and faith has come, and you cannot please Me without faith, faith in My Word puts you right with Me, in right standing, knowing who you are in Christ. Established in righteousness you are far from oppression. When you have faith that I am your healer no illness can take you down. But you must not forget that it is not just believing in your heart, that is not enough to get the result you have faith in the heart for. You must declare My Word in agreement with Me, you witness with My Word, and this results in salvation in every situation. You believe in the heart and speak it out with your mouth. That is the spirit of faith, you believe so you speak. When you do that as your first words when adversity hits, I know then it is all over and the victory is yours. The mountain will go down into the sea and there will be no evidence it was ever in your way. I abound in riches for all who call upon Me. Romans 10:12. For whoever calls the Name of the Lord will be saved. Romans 10:13.
Believing in your heart is not enough. You must release it by your own voice. You must confess it, that is, speak it in agreement with Me and with Jesus, your great High Priest. Call on Me in the day of trouble and I shall rescue you and you will honor Me. Psalm 50:15.
Jesus explained, “Have faith in God. Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.” Mark 11:22-24. To move a mountain you have to speak to it.
And do not forget the greatest meal of all, the meal that heals, cleanses, and saves. I am speaking of My Son’s own Body and Blood that is the Covenant meal of impartation of Christ’s life to you that you do as often as you eat it in remembrance of Him and to proclaim His death, and all it did for you, until He comes.
I have promised good to you. In Jesus, My Will is Salvation. It is there for you. Your good Shepherd will never leave you or forsake you. I have commanded Him to raise up on the last day all I have given to Him. And when you believe the good news of the gospel of your salvation, I seal you in Him by the Holy Spirit and He takes the responsibility to watch over and raise up My little flock. He gives you eternal life and you shall never perish. He is committed to you for the long haul. He will keep you in My house forever. Whom the Son sets free is free indeed and My Son has a place in My house forever and in Him so do you.
And that is where the great good Shepherd is leading you, first to green pastures and waters of healing rest, then on to paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake, and then to be with you as you walk you through the trials that will inevitably come in this world due to sin, rebellion, and an absence of obedience to My Word on your part or the part of another, but He won’t let you stop there in the dark valley of the shadow of death, but will rescue you out of darkness to the abundant life in the sight of your enemies where He prepares of a table of plenty in the wilderness for you to feed and fight the good fight of faith until your cup overflows as goodness and kindness pursue you until you are established in My house for length of days until that one perfect day dawns and we are together in the perfection of My Kingdom forever. He is leading you out of darkness to light, out of death to life, and out of defeat to victory. And on the way, He is stopping to give you rest in verdant pastures and healing waters of rest, encouraging you and comforting you in trials, feeding you on the right Word at the right moment, just when you need it, giving you a banquet so that you never lack just what you need right when you need it, and leading you in paths dripping in goodness and lovingkindness until you dwell in My house forever.
I love you. For I have a vision since it all began, that all may be one in Me, a family in My own image, united, triumphant, and true. And for each of you, I have a good plan, a life triumphant and fruitful, forever abiding in Me. And I have sent you the good Shepherd to lead, guide, and feed you. And He laid down His life for the sheep and gave you another Paraclete (one by your side) to be with you and in you forever. He did not leave you orphans and neither do I. I myself will shepherd My sheep.