I was puttering about in the workshop looking for some sort of long pole I could use to knock down the remaining apples which are still dangling high up in the branches of the apple tree.
A broom?
No … there’s no way that would work.
Ah-ha!! Check it out! There’s the shepherd’s hook we got several years back to hang the mosquito bug zapper on! That would be perfect!
It’s a long metal pole (just the thing I was looking for) … with a hook on the end (an added perk that’s even better!) – which would be perfect for snagging the apples and pulling them off the tree!
So outside I went with the somewhat heavy shepherd’s hook.
It was cumbersome and unwieldy! But with some patience, I was indeed able to snag the hook around the apple stem and give it a good yank!
Off the tree the apples plopped!
I was delighted! “Won’t the deer be so grateful” I thought.
Then the though suddenly occurred to me: I’m using a “shepherd’s hook”! That’s just like Psalm 23!
“Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me.”
– Psalm 23:4-5
The “rod & staff” of the shepherd’s hook which I was using was indeed a “comfort” and a blessing for the deer … because that was what was providing a “table prepared” for the deer. The deer do love apples!!
Voila! A “table prepared” for the deer!
Jesus does the same thing for us! Our “table prepared” won’t look like the “table prepared” for the deer. But similarly, Jesus uses his “rod & staff” to “prepare a table” for us!
I headed down the driveway to drop off a wheelbarrow-full of brushy weeds in the yard waste bin. On my way back, lo and behold … there was a slug, with a “table prepared” for it too!
The slug (in my opinion) is one of the least popular and lowliest of forest animals. And yet, God has “prepared a table” for even the lowly little slug!
What is it that you are praying for?
What needs have you been bringing to your loving Shepherd – Jesus?
Your loving Shepherd – Jesus – “prepares a table” for you! Your “table prepared” won’t look like anybody else’s “table prepared.” Just like the deer’s “table prepared” doesn’t look anything at all like the little slug’s “table prepared.”
Thank you Jesus, for being our loving Shepherd!
Thank you Jesus for “preparing a table” for us! Exactly what we need! Exactly when we need it!
We are so grateful!!
