For Christmas a couple of years ago, my husband and I gave our kids The Biggest Story Bible, written by Kevin DeYoung and illustrated by Don Clark. We read it at bedtime with them, and the timeless truths of the Bible combined with stunning illustrations (think lots of shapes, patterns, and people depicted with unexpected skin colors like green!) really make an impact on me, even as an adult, while sharing it with my children.

Recently, the nighttime story was a paraphrase of Psalm 23, reimagined to rhyme in English. I felt arrested when I saw the words matched with an ominous photo of a dark forest filled with menacing red eyes (see video here at 1:44–2:00). “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows” (verses 4,5).

The corresponding Bible passage comes from the famous “Good Shepherd” psalm, Psalm 23, often read at funerals. Again, verse 5 says, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” Those lines often get glossed over for the more well-known verses in Psalm 23 that state, “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing” (verse 1) and, “Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever” (verse 6). So let’s dig into what verse 5 means.

First off, God is holy, and we … aren’t. Yet even though we as a people deserve nothing because of our inborn sin and shame, God still sent his Son, Jesus, to be a holy substitute for us. Jesus was tempted every step of his earthly life to give up, go back to heaven, quit his mission, and live forever in the glory that he deserves—but he set that aside. He became a servant. He humbled himself in every possible way by living largely unknown in a nowhere town doing menial work most of his life. He died in a tornado of emotional and physical devastation. He was betrayed relationally, humiliated publicly, and executed unjustly for your sins and mine—and for what? He endured heartbreak, torture, and literal hell, all because—simply—Jesus loves us! His love held him on the cross, and it’s out of that love that God deems us righteous in his sight and worthy of heaven through faith in Christ.

On top of that, God takes care of all our spiritual, emotional, and physical needs to sustain us through whatever adversity we are up against, even if we can’t see or don’t understand that truth clearly in the middle of our pain.

While the passage, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies” is meant to be figurative—God isn’t promising to set up a buffet for you while jealous adversaries look on, necessarily—it does speak to the fact that God provides us with literal, tangible help in our earthly lives until we enjoy the glory of heaven. This providence is usually so abundant that you and those around you can recognize ways that he is working all things out for “the good of those who love him” (Romans 8:28).

I’ve seen this in my life clearly during a recent hard season. I felt spread thin with responsibilities and bombarded with demands that seemed beyond what I could handle. On one of the worst days, when I knew a hard conversation was coming, I got a random bouquet of flowers from an acquaintance and a huge bag of candy from a student. After a long night of praying for relief, the next day God blessed me with the ears and encouragement of several wonderful friends as well as a free (and delicious!) pizza lunch—with cake! These were little things, but they were ways that God “prepared a table before me” in the presence of odds that felt debilitating.

Our loving Savior does the same thing for you!

I pray that today you feel the enormity of the love God has for you and that he blesses you with eyes to see all the ways he abundantly provides for you, even in the midst of adversity. He has given you and me heaven, where we will feast forever in the presence of his holiness. While we live here, he gives us so much more than our daily bread—our cups are filled up and overflowing!