You’re Welcome at God’s Table - Encouragement for Today - January 15, 2026
You’re Welcome at God’s Table
CLAIRE FOXX
Lee en español
“Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!” (Psalm 34:8a, ESV)
“Hey, get your own fries!” If I had a dollar for every time my dad jokingly told me this as a kid, I could probably buy McDonald’s by now.
It was an ongoing bit, a dinnertime game of stealth where no one kept score but we both laughed when I was caught “red-handed,” dripping ketchup on the booth. What would a Happy Meal be without those extra fries snatched from Dad’s tray while he was refilling his drink? And were they really stolen if he winked when he saw me licking the salt off my fingers? Somehow it tasted sweet.
Today those fries remind me of Psalm 34, a hymn David wrote after an interesting meal of his own. He’d been fleeing from the murderous King Saul, running from city to city in search of a safe place to rest and devise a plan. According to 1 Samuel 21, he stopped in Nob for provisions, but the only food he could find was the Bread of the Presence that had just been retired from temple service. Among Israel's priests, laypeople were not considered holy enough to eat this bread.
Yet David boldly took a bite. And he walked away singing, “Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!” (Psalm 34:8).
How? Wasn’t David breaking the rules here? Why wasn't he saying, “Taste and see that sin is bad,” like Adam and Eve when they ate forbidden fruit in the garden of Eden?
Because God didn’t necessarily forbid the temple shewbread. In Leviticus 24:9, He declared it to be sacred and set apart, but the same God who required human reverence also met human needs. And like David, we can “taste and see that the LORD is good” (Psalm 34:8) when we digest this essential truth about His character.
Sometimes we focus so much on what we see as God’s prohibitions that we lose sight of His provision. That’s what happened to Adam and Eve when Satan tempted them in the garden of Eden. They began to imagine God as a cruel, withholding Father, which led them to taste sin and death.
But when David remembered what God actually said and who God actually is, he ended up with a mouthful of praise. David dared to believe that God wanted to nourish him. He pulled up a chair to the table — not to “steal a bite” in disobedience but to feast with a generous Father who feeds His family well.
Maybe you’ve been afraid to bring your hunger to God, afraid to need or want too much. Afraid He might resent your appetite or leave your stomach growling. But, friend, God isn’t frustrated by your hunger — there is room for you at His table. He invites you to be full and satisfied in Him.
Lord, You are generous and good. Help me remember who You actually are: a God who provides and satisfies Your children. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
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FOR DEEPER STUDY
Psalm 34:10, “The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing” (ESV).
Matthew 12:3-7, “[Jesus] said to them, ‘Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? … I tell you, something greater than the temple is here. And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless” (ESV).
Why do you think it’s important that Jesus Himself revisited this story from David’s life and said David’s actions were not to be condemned? How does this further illustrate God’s heart of provision and mercy? We’d love to hear from you in the comments.
© 2026 by Claire Foxx. All rights reserved.
Proverbs 31 Ministries
P.O. Box 3189
Matthews, NC 28106
www.Proverbs31.org
