BLESSED IN THE PRESENCE OF YOUR ENEMIES
Hello, and welcome to LivWell Ministry.
I’m Liz Wells.
And if you’re joining me today, thank you for taking the time to listen.
Here at LivWell, we talk honestly about faith.
Healing.
Recovery.
Purpose.
And what it means to keep walking with God through the realities of life.
Not just when life is going well.
Not just when everything feels settled.
But in the middle of uncertainty.
In the middle of disappointment.
In the middle of battles we didn’t choose.
And today’s message comes from something God has been speaking to me about recently through His Word.
A verse that most of us know incredibly well.
Psalm 23:5 says:
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.”
And for years...
I think I understood that verse in quite a simple way.
I imagined God blessing us...
while the people who had hurt us watched.
The people who rejected us.
The people who doubted us.
The people who misunderstood us.
The people who perhaps spoke against us.
Almost as if God was saying:
“I will bless you anyway.”
And there is truth in knowing that no human being can stop what God has purposed for your life.
But recently...
God has challenged me to look at this verse differently.
Because I’ve been praying.
Asking questions.
Thinking about some of the battles that continue in my own life.
And this verse kept coming back to me.
Again.
And again.
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.”
And I started asking:
What if the enemies aren’t people?
THE REAL BATTLE
Ephesians 6:12 says:
"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."
That changes how we see things.
Because our real battle was never supposed to be against people.
People can hurt us.
People can disappoint us.
People can betray us.
People can reject us.
But Scripture tells us that there is something deeper happening.
And sometimes...
the enemy standing in front of us doesn’t have a face.
Sometimes the enemy is fear.
Sometimes it is anxiety.
Sometimes it is shame.
Sometimes it is doubt.
Sometimes it is unforgiveness.
Sometimes it is trauma.
Sometimes it is illness.
Sometimes it is financial pressure.
Sometimes it is exhaustion.
Sometimes it is grief.
Sometimes it is the constant feeling that somehow...
you are not enough.
Not clever enough.
Not strong enough.
Not spiritual enough.
Not experienced enough.
Not confident enough.
Not ready enough.
And sometimes the enemy is simply a whisper.
“Give up.”
“You’ll never do it.”
“You’ve missed your chance.”
“Nobody wants what you have to offer.”
“You’re too damaged.”
“You’re too late.”
“You’re not the kind of person God would use.”
And if we listen to those voices for long enough...
we can begin living as though they are true.
WE THINK THE ENEMIES HAVE TO LEAVE FIRST
I think many of us have unconsciously believed something.
We think we have to defeat everything first.
Then we can move.
We think:
When I’m completely healed...
then I’ll do what God has called me to do.
When I’m no longer afraid...
then I’ll take the step.
When I feel confident...
then I’ll apply.
When the finances improve...
then I’ll obey.
When everybody understands me...
then I’ll move forward.
When the opposition disappears...
then I’ll begin.
When I finally feel ready...
then I’ll say yes.
But Psalm 23 says something completely different.
God does not say:
“I will prepare a table for you when all your enemies are gone.”
He says:
“I prepare a table before you in their presence.”
While they are still there.
While you can still see them.
While you can still hear them.
While the battle is still happening.
The table is already prepared.
THE TABLE IS IN THE BATTLEFIELD
Think about the picture.
A table is normally a place of peace.
Provision.
Fellowship.
Rest.
Celebration.
A table says:
There is enough.
A table says:
You are welcome here.
A table says:
Sit down.
Eat.
Receive.
But Psalm 23 places that table somewhere unusual.
Not in a quiet room.
Not after the conflict.
Not when everything has settled.
In the presence of enemies.
The battlefield has not disappeared.
The enemies have not necessarily gone away.
But God is still providing.
Still sustaining.
Still blessing.
Still present.
And I think that is such an important truth.
Because sometimes we assume that if the battle is still there...
God must not have answered us yet.
But what if His answer is:
“I am sustaining you in the middle of it.”
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL YOU ARE FULLY HEALED
This is something I have had to learn personally.
You do not have to wait until you are completely healed...
before taking a step of faith.
You do not have to wait until every scar disappears.
You do not have to wait until you understand everything that happened to you.
You do not have to wait until you have processed every painful experience.
God can use you...
while you are still healing.
He can bless you...
while there are still unanswered questions.
He can call you forward...
while there are still things in your life that you wish were different.
Healing and purpose are not always separate seasons.
Sometimes they happen together.
Sometimes God heals us...
while we walk.
FEAR DOES NOT HAVE TO DISAPPEAR FIRST
And the same is true of fear.
We often think courage means:
I am no longer afraid.
But courage is very rarely the absence of fear.
Courage is choosing to move...
while fear is still speaking.
It is saying:
“I hear you, fear.”
“But you are not my commander.”
Fear may be present.
But fear does not get to decide.
God does.
And that is a completely different way to live.
CONFIDENCE RARELY COMES FIRST
I think so many of us are waiting for confidence.
We tell ourselves:
When I feel confident...
I’ll start.
When I feel confident...
I’ll speak.
When I feel confident...
I’ll apply.
When I feel confident...
I’ll step into that room.
But confidence very rarely comes first.
Faith comes first.
Then we move.
And confidence often grows afterwards.
Because suddenly we discover:
I survived that.
God was with me.
I took the step and He met me there.
And then the next step becomes a little easier.
Not because we suddenly believe in ourselves more...
but because we trust Him more.
JOSHUA HAD BATTLES AHEAD
Joshua 1:9 says:
"Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."
Notice what God did not say.
He didn’t say:
“Joshua, there will be no battles.”
There were battles.
He didn’t say:
“Nobody will oppose you.”
There was opposition.
He didn’t say:
“Everything will happen easily.”
It didn’t.
He said:
“I will be with you.”
That was the promise.
Not the absence of difficulty.
The presence of God.
And sometimes I think we keep asking God to remove the battle...
when He is trying to teach us that His presence is greater than the battle.
MY OWN JOURNEY
When I look back over my own journey...
through liver failure...
transplant...
recovery...
returning to life...
returning to work...
stepping into new opportunities...
and trying to understand what God is asking me to do with everything I have lived through...
I realise something.
If I had waited until every fear disappeared...
I would probably never have done anything.
If I had waited until every unanswered question was resolved...
I would still be waiting.
If I had waited until I felt completely healed...
I might never have moved.
If I had waited until every enemy left the battlefield...
I would still be standing in the same place.
There have been so many moments when I have had to move...
while the battle was still there.
Move while afraid.
Move while uncertain.
Move while physically tired.
Move while carrying scars.
Move while still asking God questions.
Move while people didn’t understand.
Move while not knowing exactly how things would turn out.
And every time...
God gave enough grace for the next step.
THE TABLE DOES NOT MEAN THERE IS NO PAIN
And I think we need to be careful here.
Because Psalm 23 does not promise a pain-free life.
The table does not mean there is no grief.
No illness.
No opposition.
No disappointment.
No spiritual battle.
No difficulty.
Psalm 23 itself speaks about walking through the valley of the shadow of death.
The valley exists.
The enemies exist.
The darkness exists.
But so does the Shepherd.
That is the difference.
The Christian life is not:
Nothing difficult will ever happen to me.
The Christian life is:
Nothing difficult will ever separate me from Him.
GOD DOES NOT NEED PERFECT CONDITIONS
And perhaps this is where some of us have become stuck.
We are waiting for perfect conditions.
But God has never needed perfect conditions.
Look throughout Scripture.
David was anointed while Saul was still king.
Joseph received a dream long before he reached the palace.
Moses was called while he was hiding in the wilderness.
Gideon was called while he was afraid.
Peter stepped out of the boat while the storm was still raging.
Paul preached while opposition followed him from city to city.
The presence of difficulty has never meant the absence of God's calling.
Sometimes...
the very place where the enemy tells you:
“God cannot possibly use you here.”
is exactly where God begins.
THE ENEMY WANTS YOU TO DELAY
Because delay can become its own form of defeat.
If the enemy cannot completely destroy your calling...
perhaps he can persuade you to postpone it indefinitely.
Wait until you're more confident.
Wait until you're less afraid.
Wait until everybody approves.
Wait until life settles down.
Wait until the children are older.
Wait until the finances improve.
Wait until you feel spiritually strong.
Wait until you feel worthy.
Wait.
Wait.
Wait.
And suddenly...
years pass.
The enemy does not always need you to say:
“No.”
Sometimes he only needs you to keep saying:
“Not yet.”
GOD SAYS TAKE THE STEP
And sometimes God simply says:
Take the step.
Trust Me.
Walk forward.
You don't have to see the whole road.
You don't have to know exactly what happens afterwards.
You don't have to feel fearless.
You just have to decide whose voice you are going to follow.
And when we begin doing that...
something remarkable happens.
The voice of the enemy starts becoming quieter.
Not necessarily because the battle instantly disappears.
But because we become better at recognising the voice of God.
WHICH VOICE ARE YOU LISTENING TO?
Jesus says:
“My sheep hear My voice.”
And I think learning to walk with God means learning to recognise Him above all the competing noise.
Fear has a voice.
Shame has a voice.
Trauma has a voice.
Culture has a voice.
Other people have voices.
Past failure has a voice.
The enemy has a voice.
But so does God.
And the more time we spend with Him...
the more we begin to recognise:
That sounds like fear.
That sounds like shame.
That sounds like accusation.
That is not my Shepherd.
Because the Shepherd leads.
He corrects.
He challenges.
He may ask us to do difficult things.
But His voice does not sound like hopelessness.
His voice calls us forward.
THE TABLE IS ALSO A STATEMENT
And I think the table in Psalm 23 is also a statement.
Because the enemies are present...
and yet the Shepherd is completely untroubled.
Think about that.
God is not hurried.
He is not panicking.
He is not looking over His shoulder.
He is not saying:
“Quickly eat before something happens.”
No.
He prepares a table.
There is confidence in that picture.
There is authority in it.
The Shepherd is not intimidated by what intimidates us.
The enemy may frighten us...
but he does not frighten God.
And perhaps when God prepares a table in the presence of our enemies...
He is teaching us:
“You do not need to live afraid of what I have authority over.”
THE ENEMY DOES NOT GET TO CANCEL YOUR BLESSING
Your fear does not get to cancel what God has called you to.
Your past does not get to cancel it.
Your scars do not cancel it.
Your illness does not automatically cancel it.
Your mistakes do not get the final word when repentance and grace have spoken.
Your age does not cancel it.
Other people's opinions do not cancel it.
The opposition does not cancel it.
If God has called you forward...
the presence of an enemy does not mean the promise has disappeared.
Sometimes the enemy is standing there...
watching God provide anyway.
THIS CHANGES HOW WE PRAY
And perhaps this changes our prayers.
Instead of always praying:
“God, remove everything difficult before I move.”
perhaps we begin praying:
“God, teach me to recognise Your table in the middle of it.”
Give me peace...
while the battle is still there.
Give me courage...
while fear is still speaking.
Give me wisdom...
while I still don't know everything.
Give me strength...
while my body feels weak.
Give me provision...
while I still cannot see where it will come from.
Give me faith...
while the enemy is telling me nothing will change.
And perhaps that is where some of our deepest growth happens.
GOD MAY NOT REMOVE IT IMMEDIATELY
There are things in life we pray will disappear immediately.
And sometimes they do.
God intervenes dramatically.
A door opens.
A problem resolves.
Healing comes.
Provision arrives.
The battle changes overnight.
And I have seen God do that.
But there are also times when the answer comes differently.
Sometimes God removes the enemy.
Sometimes...
He teaches you to sit at the table while the enemy watches.
He gives you peace that makes no sense.
Strength you shouldn't naturally have.
Joy in circumstances that haven't changed.
Courage in places that previously terrified you.
And suddenly...
the thing that once controlled you...
is still present...
but it no longer controls you.
That is victory too.
THE TABLE IS PROOF OF WHO YOU BELONG TO
Because ultimately...
the table is not about the enemy.
It is about the Shepherd.
Psalm 23 begins:
“The Lord is my shepherd.”
That is the foundation of everything that follows.
Because He is my Shepherd...
I lack nothing.
Because He is my Shepherd...
He leads me.
Because He is my Shepherd...
He restores me.
Because He is my Shepherd...
He walks with me through the valley.
Because He is my Shepherd...
I do not need to fear evil.
And because He is my Shepherd...
He prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
The table is evidence of relationship.
You belong to Him.
STOP WAITING FOR THE BATTLEFIELD TO EMPTY
So perhaps today...
you need to stop waiting for the battlefield to become empty.
Maybe you've been saying:
“When this goes away, I'll move.”
And God is saying:
“Move with Me now.”
Maybe you've been waiting to become a different version of yourself.
More healed.
More confident.
More organised.
More certain.
More impressive.
And perhaps God is saying:
“I can use you here.”
Right now.
Not some imaginary future version of you.
You.
With your scars.
With your questions.
With your limitations.
With whatever you are carrying.
If He is calling you...
He already knows all of it.
WHAT IS YOUR ENEMY TODAY?
So I want you to think for a moment.
What is standing around your table?
Fear?
Anxiety?
Illness?
Grief?
Financial pressure?
A painful past?
Rejection?
A lack of confidence?
An unanswered prayer?
A voice telling you that you cannot move forward?
Name it.
Not because we are giving it power.
But because sometimes we need to recognise what has been controlling our decisions.
And then look beyond it.
Because behind the fear...
there is a table.
Behind the uncertainty...
there is a Shepherd.
Behind the battle...
there is provision.
Behind the noise...
there is a voice saying:
“Come and sit with Me.”
Closing
Today I want to encourage you.
Whatever enemy is standing in front of you right now...
do not wait for it to disappear before you obey God.
Do not wait for perfect circumstances.
Do not wait for complete confidence.
Do not wait until you understand everything.
Take the next step.
However small it is.
Make the phone call.
Send the application.
Write the first page.
Ask for help.
Forgive.
Begin.
Rest if He is telling you to rest.
Move if He is telling you to move.
But follow Him.
Because God is not waiting for the battlefield to clear before He blesses you.
The table is already there.
Not after the battle.
Not after the fear.
Not after everything has been resolved.
In the presence of your enemies.
And perhaps the greatest declaration of faith you can make today is simply this:
“The battle may still be here...
but so is my God.”
Reflection
Ask yourself:
What am I waiting to disappear before I obey God?
Have I allowed fear or uncertainty to make decisions for me?
What would I do differently if I truly believed God's presence was enough?
And what is the next small step of faith He is asking me to take?
Prayer
Father,
thank You that You are our Shepherd.
Thank You that You do not abandon us when battles come.
Thank You that You prepare a table for us...
even in the presence of our enemies.
Help us to stop waiting for perfect conditions.
Help us to stop believing that fear must disappear before we can move.
Give us courage when we feel afraid.
Give us peace when circumstances remain uncertain.
Give us strength when we feel weak.
And teach us to recognise Your voice above every voice that tells us to stop.
Father, whatever enemy is standing around us today...
remind us that it is not greater than You.
Help us to sit at the table You have prepared.
To receive Your provision.
To trust Your presence.
And then...
when You say move...
give us the courage to take the next step.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Declaration
The Lord is my Shepherd.
I am not alone in the battle.
Fear does not decide my future.
My past does not cancel my calling.
I do not need perfect conditions to obey God.
I will move when He tells me to move.
I will trust Him while the battle is still present.
My enemies do not determine my portion.
God prepares the table.
And I will sit at it.
