In the presence of your enemies, how is God preparing a table for you?

I’d like to think I don’t have enemies. I’m eager to please, to ensure safety and happiness at all times. On the odd occasion that I have spoken up, it's been clear to me that fighting for truth and justice can sometimes attract disdain. Nevertheless, I would never have used the word ‘enemy’ to describe these people.

But on a dismal Monday afternoon, I sat speaking to my spiritual mentor, processing some unfortunate events. She read Psalm 23 to me and asked what stood out. The verse, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies,” reverberated through my mind. “So what is the enemy?” She asked gently.

I prayed about it for a moment… anger…for me it was experiencing the unjust anger of others – anger that resulted in feelings of disempowerment, shame and confusion. It had at times kept my head down, down so low I failed to see what was good and true.

I wonder for you, as you read this, what comes to mind when you think of your enemies? The world we live in has a plethora of unjust and distressing situations we witness and experience that can result in a smorgasbord of difficult emotions.

For those in countries where poverty and injustice make the daily grind an understatement, I can’t even comprehend the list of ‘enemies’ that befall people.

Today political movements, businesses and technology have excelled at capitalising on the ‘enemies’ that keep us disconnected from God and his mission for this world. The algorithms and advertisements know exactly how to keep us at bay from the truth of God’s promises – promises that ground our hope.

Marlon Phiri, who leads Tearfunds partner ROCS, in Zambia, has watched communities endure hunger brought on by droughts and floods, and knows first hand that hope cannot be fuelled by positive experiences alone: “Christian hope is different from optimism, because optimism depends on circumstances improving,” he shares. “Our hope is grounded in the character and promises that God offers, not circumstances.” 

I’ve always been captivated by how Jesus loved the marginalised with grace and humility. It was an all-knowing love that spoke directly to their innermost being. He healed, transformed, and lifted up heads weighed down by shame. Nothing captures God’s heart and His promise for all humanity quite like Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well.

In her novel, The Very Good Gospel, Christian leader and activist Lisa Sharon Harper reflects, “As Jesus waited at a well and asked for a drink of water, the God of all creation crossed space and time to propose to humanity! And in asking this of a Samaritan woman, Jesus showed that God’s home is not limited by ethnicity, gender, or social status.”

Jesus reached right into her pain and loneliness. As a Samaritan, she belonged to a people avoided by Jewish culture – for over 400 years a complex history has led them to become enemies. As a woman coming to the well alone at noon, she was likely shunned even by her own community for a situation she probably had little control over.

But meeting Jesus showed her not only that she was worthy of love, but also worthy of carrying the good news. As I look around at our world today, with all its division, its distrust of those who look or live differently, and its deep loneliness, this message of inclusion is one we desperately need.

This message of love and acceptance is written into the work of every Tearfund partner as they holistically restore the lives of people who have known marginalisation their whole lives.

In Zimbabwe, Thenjiwe, who lives with a disability that affects the use of her hands and feet, was shunned by her community. She tried to sell the vegetables she grew in the community garden but no one would buy from a person with a disability.

Thenjiwe shares, “Even my mother was never happy having me as her baby. I could see by the treatment she would give me, asking other younger children to do things for me always as if I were non-existent.”

Tearfund’s local partner in Zimbabwe, HEFO, began preparing the table with God. They not only worked with Thenjiwe on understanding her worth and abilities, they took the time to work with the community and help them overcome their misunderstandings about disability.

Thenjiwe is now a committee member with her local community. She works side by side with other women in the garden and with greater self-belief has been speaking up when she witnesses discrimination against others living with a disability.

As I reflect on how God prepared a table for me through difficult seasons, I realise it wasn’t a single grand meal that carried me through, but rather a smorgasbord of dishes that restored my hope. It was the community that walked alongside me: an experienced counselor, pastors, and friends who listened and prayed, as well as hearing stories of transformation in really challenging contexts, like that of Thenjiwe and Marlon. Most importantly, it was sitting with God and allowing the Holy Spirit to heal the hurt.

Healing took work and time. Slowly, as I began to lift my head, I could see God’s goodness in my life and in the world He created. Moving out of hard seasons and into seasons of possibility is rarely linear. Yet, being rooted in the story of a good God – and supported by a community working to reflect that goodness – makes it far easier to let the light in when enemies feel near. And once the light enters, it becomes clearer to see what God is doing around me and step into the good work He has prepared.

On Tearfund’s Strong Roots, High Hopes podcast, Pastor Graeme Anderson reframes our role in God’s mission: “Our narrative is not, ‘there is a story of God, and I'm going to create space in my life for that story of God.’ It's, ‘there's a story of God, and there is a space in that story for me to join in and for me to participate.’ When a community of people realise together that they are participating in God's story, their imaginations widen hugely.”