Hi, friends! Welcome to the Psalm 23 Mug challenge, where I encourage you to spend time with your Shepherd from the first sip to the last of your morning coffee (or whatever you drink!) Here you will find prompts from Psalm 23 to pray through. Feel free to jump in any week, or you can start from the beginning here.
You anoint my head with oil. My cup runneth over.
Psalm 23:5b
I’ve read over this Psalm probably hundreds of times in my life, and I just love the way God is always revealing something new about Himself even in familiar passages. I’ll post the psalm in its entirety here and I want to see if you can pick up on a subtle shift that happens between verses 4 and 5.
First of all, you see David compare God as a Shepherd, and then God as a host.
Secondly, and what I found most interesting, he transitions from talking about God to talking to God. Why the change?
I believe there is an intimacy that is reached when we go from knowing God, to experiencing Him. He is not just a provider, an overseer, a guide, or giver of good things. He proves Himself faithful when He walks the hard roads with us. It is then we call Him Friend and Father. It is in this verse that David paints a picture of God setting the table, and then sets the scene for what happens when we are sitting there.
He anoints my head with oil. My cup overflows.
Culturally in the East, the guest of honor would have oil or perfume poured over them to symbolize love and respect. Next, they would be given a choice glass of wine where the host carefully overflowed the vessel to imply that while they remained at the table, the guest would lack for nothing.
While you enjoy your time sipping your coffee today, I would challenge you to reflect on the names of God that you most identify with. Feel free to use Psalm 23 as a guide.
“God you are my ______________________”
Are there any titles that you feel uncomfortable with? Any kind of relationship that you wish to develop further? Maybe you feel comfortable referring to God as your “friend” but not as “Father.” Spend some time in reflection asking God for ways that He can draw you closer to Himself so that when you commune with Him, you can experience all the love He has to offer so it can be poured out and shared with others.
Here is my absolute favorite song about how God reveals Himself in different ways in the various seasons of our lives.
Blessings, sweet friend,
Megan
Please post a photo of your mug with #Psalm23mugchallenge (or screen shot and share my image) to encourage others to join us! I’d love to hear your thoughts and reflections from the day’s challenge.
