My Cup Overflows: Experiencing God's Comfort in Motherhood's Valleys ናሙና

“in the presence of my enemies;” - Psalm 23:5

One of my favorite books is Hinds Feet on High Places. It’s a story about a character named Much-Afraid, and it’s a beautiful allegory about the Christian’s journey with Jesus from salvation to spiritual maturity. Along her journey to the “High Places,” Much-Afraid must constantly face and overcome her enemies, whose names are Pride, Resentment, Bitterness, Self-pity, and Fear.

In the Psalms, many references are made to one’s enemies, and oftentimes we may feel like we can’t relate because we are not facing any physical enemies in our lives. But as the allegory with Much-Afraid’s story demonstrates, many times our greatest enemies are intangible opponents - enemies such as pride, resentment, bitterness, self-pity, or fear.

Psalm 23:5 says, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” In this verse, the Psalmist David declares that God leads him in victory over his struggles and suffering, and God does so in the presence of his enemies.

In hard times, we might often feel like we’re simply lost under a wave of suffering. But if we can identify our harmful thoughts, we can make forward progress. For only when the opponent is identified and made visible can we begin to fight it.

For example, rather than sinking into despair when we feel like a “bad mom,” we can instead say - I’m listening to the enemy of shame. Rather than spiraling down a rabbit trail of worries, we can instead say - I’m letting the enemy of fear control me. Rather than fueling the fire of our frustration at many of the mundane or lowly aspects of motherhood, we can instead say - I’m letting the enemy of pride steal my contentment.

In our struggle against our enemies, like David, we can take heart in God’s victory. When Christ died and rose from the dead, he defeated sin and death once and for all. In his great love for us, he will not stop untangling their influence from our lives. As Romans 8:31 says, “If God is for us, who can be against us?”

Today, in the spiritual and emotional battle you might be facing, remember that you share in Christ’s victorious power! You can stand with him, and in the face of your enemies declare, “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55).