“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows.” Psalm 23:5
Have you ever wondered what this part of Psalm 23 means? Me too. So I did a little research on it, and this is what I found:
As you may know, sheep are—well, to put it bluntly—dumb. They often panic when they get into a pickle, because they’re not smart enough to get out of it.
For example, sheep can get their head caught in briers and die trying to get untangled. There are horrid little flies that like to torment sheep by laying eggs in their nostrils which turn into worms and drive the sheep to beat their head against a rock, sometimes to death. Their eyes and ears are also susceptible to tormenting insects.
So, shepherds will anoint their whole head with oil, and that oil forms a protective barrier against the evil pests that try to destroy the sheep. Then the sheep can live in peace.
Isaiah 61:3 tells us that Jesus was sent to give the afflicted “the oil of gladness instead of mourning.” Psalm 45:7 explains about Jesus that “You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of joy above Your fellows.”
Do you have times of mental torment? Do worrisome thoughts invade your mind over and over? Do you beat your head against a wall trying to stop them? 2 Cor. 10:5 encourages us to take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ. Diving deep into the promises of God—believing them to be true—brings true joy which flushes out the lies of Satan and drives away that mental torment.
Focusing on the blessings of God is like turning on a flashlight in a dark room. It drives the darkness away. The joy of the Lord is our strength! The oil of joy of who Jesus is and what He has done for us protects our hearts and helps us fix our minds on things above and find the peace that stops Satan’s torment.
Isaiah 26:3-4: “The steadfast of mind You will keep in perfect peace, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, For in God the Lord, we have an everlasting Rock.”
Keep your mind fixed on Jesus today, and those promises will be like oil on your head, protecting you from mental torment, and allowing you to be strengthened by the joy of the Lord.
~Shawna
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