READ: PSALMS 23:1-6; 46:8-11; ISAIAH 25:6; LAMENTATIONS 3:24-26

This darkness wasn’t just pitch black like the night or chilled like a cave deep within the terrain, no, it was consuming, alive, and predatory. It crept up on Laz, Banji, and Sera as they huddled close, petrified they’d lose each other in whatever this chasmic place was. Their swords were gone, and they’d been stripped of their armor. They were utterly defenseless.

“What is this place?” Banji exclaimed. Sera immediately shushed him, but he ignored her. “Where—”

“Listen,” Laz said. Then they heard it. The harsh battle cries, the clanging of swords on shields, the crying. All emanating from the thick darkness that curled around them like a swathe of fabric being draped over the landscape.

“We need to get back,” Sera said. “Get our weapons and get out of this—this abyss.”

Something like a brush of fingertips caressed Banji’s neck, then the heaviness of the task pressed down on his shoulders. “I can feel it,” he murmured. “The hopelessness, our enemies surrounding us somewhere out there.”

They trekked across the charred, rocky landscape in silence. But to where, they had no idea. Hours passed, but nothing around them changed. “Maybe we should stop,” Banji suggested. “Don’t you remember what the elders reminded us to do?”

“Be still,” answered Laz, “and know that I am God.”

Sera shook her head. “We can’t. We have to press on. That saying is just meant to be an encouragement.”

“What if we just pause for a few minutes,” said Laz, “and really take in our surroundings. We’ve been moving so fast, we’ve hardly looked around, let alone caught our breath.” Reluctantly, Sera obliged, and the three of them shut their eyes. They were surprised to find the darkness in their minds wasn’t burdensome now. Their bodies felt a bit lighter too.

“Look!” Banji said. Sera and Laz quickly opened their eyes and saw a faint, white glow illuminating a table. A robed figure sang wordless hymns that carried over the noises of the war that raged beyond this place. As they approached the table, they saw it was completely set. Beams of light radiated off the man, creating a bulwark around them. “I’ve been waiting for you,” he said with a smile. “This table has been prepared for you. Come, eat.”

“Thank you, but we don’t have time,” Sera said. “We have a battle to fight.”

Before the man could answer, Laz asked, “Who are you?”

“The one who tells you to ‘be still.’ Come and sit, join me.” They looked down, noticing the bowls of soup and platters of bread, both of which had steam rising into the cold air. The man said, “Don’t worry about the battle and evil in your world. Feast with me.” • Zoe Brickner

• Have you ever felt like the three friends in this allegorical story—hopeless, surrounded by evil, or like you were fighting a losing battle? In Psalm 46:10, God says, “Be still, and know that I am God” (WEB). Some Bible translations say, “Stop fighting, and know that I am God” (CSB). Why do you think God calls us to do this?

• Jesus is the Light of the World. He was willing to die on the cross for our sins, and then He rose from the grave to save us. On the night before Jesus went to the cross, He promised us His peace in chaos and His joy in suffering as we wait for His return. God invites us to sit and rest at a table He has prepared before us because the battle against sin and evil is already won! He wants us to enjoy His presence no matter our surroundings, and through Jesus’s death and resurrection He provides us with abundantly more blessings than we could fathom. How great is He! Consider taking a moment to pray, telling God about the chaos and suffering you’ve been experiencing lately, and asking the Holy Spirit—who is the Comforter—to remind you of God’s love and the powerful hope of Jesus’s promises.

• If you want to dig deeper, read John 1:1-14; 8:12; 14:26-27; 15:11; Romans 8:31-39; Ephesians 1:3; 3:20; Revelation 21:1-5.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. Psalm 23:5 (WEB)