A Table in the Presence

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
Psalm 23

Last year I read the book 'A Table in the Presence,' by LT Carey Cash, a Navy chaplain serving with the 5th Marine regiment. It is a great book about how the 1st Battalion, 5th Marine regiment saw God's hand at work in the combat they were engaged in. One of the things that I loved about the book was the way that Cash talked about this sentence from Psalm 23. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. I love the imagery that comes with this thought. That God prepares a table for us. He wants us to sit with him, to relax with him, to share a meal with him. The thing that I think is awesome about this verse is that God prepares this table in the presence of our enemies. He doesn't remove us from the chaos and confusion of our lives to spend this time with us. He does it in the midst of chaos. For those that have seen combat you know that the last thing you think about in a firefight is to sit down and share a meal with someone. But that is exactly what God does for us. He prepares a place for us where we can find that peace in the midst of chaos.

This summer has been crazy for us. We are seeing record numbers in both RMH and FTA. It is a busy, chaotic time, and sometimes it feels like I'm in a firefight. In those times I need to remember that God has prepared a table before me in the presence of the chaos. I need to continue to seek him and he will give me rest (Ex 33:14) and a peace that transcends all understanding (Phil 4:6-7).

Be encouraged: No matter what you are going through, God has prepared a table in the midst of your chaos where you can find peace.

RMH Feedback

Here are some of the comments from our first three RMHs. These have been some awesome sessions and God has really been moving in the lives of the students. I hope you enjoy these comments. Praise God for what he has been doing.

“The theme verse for my week was: Do not be anxious about anything...God's peace rules. We all have to be willing to bare our souls a bit painfully to really grow and sharpen each other. When God's peace reigns, all is right and that's where we rest. That's how I felt on the trek out that afternoon after summit - somehow God held everything I had shown up worrying about and not that I had any more certainty, but that in his grandeur, He can handle it.”


“God really spoke to me about putting Him and my family first and not letting my job overtake my life. I have a way of getting too immersed and task oriented and I can compartmentalize these essentials into the recesses of my daily life. It is not like i am becoming a different person when i get so task oriented, but it is that my concern of my faith and my family tend to be suppressed when i get too focused on having to get something done. The Lord really spoke to me that I should let those two things fuel me and not be a hindrance to me when i am trying to get things done. Also a lesson in not trying to do everything on my own.”


“Before the trip I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior but never thought about him being my Lord as well. I found that out to be so important during RMH.”


“I had a truly amazing experience at RMH that I will never forget. I will look back on the week as a constant reminder of God's power and majesty.”


“It was an awesome experience that strengthened my faith and recharged me!”