He Anoints My Head With Oil - Staying Seated at the Shepherd’s Table
In this week’s episode of Heartfelt Conversations with Diana, we explore what it really means to stay seated at the Shepherd’s table—the sacred place of rest, protection, and spiritual nourishment that God prepares for us even in the presence of our enemies.
Diana shares a deeply personal testimony of battling fear, anxiety, and the heaviness of past trauma until God brought Psalm 91:1 alive in her heart. From that moment, she began to understand the security, covering, and peace found only under the shadow of the Almighty.
Through warm storytelling, biblical insight, and real-life honesty, Diana unpacks why staying at the Shepherd’s table can feel so difficult when distractions, shame, spiritual attacks, and our own self-will try to lure us away. Yet it is precisely at this table—God’s table—where revival, renewal, clarity, joy, and strength are poured generously into our lives.
Together, we look at:
How the Holy Spirit equips believers with “thought management,” discernment, and supernatural peace
Why do we so easily run from God when we need Him most
The dangers of spiritual impatience and self-focus
The importance of slowing down to receive what God has prepared
How joy, boldness, and faith return when we remain in His presence
Practical and biblical steps for choosing to dwell, abide, and stay
If your heart feels weary, distracted, afraid, or spiritually underfed, this conversation will remind you that your Shepherd is inviting you back to the table—your place of safety, nourishment, and belonging.
Diana’s Notes
Series: “Finding Our Identity in His Greatness”
Hello everybody!!! And welcome to today’s episode, “He Anoints My Head With Oil – Staying Seated at the Shepherd’s Table,”
as we continue our series on finding our identity in His greatness along the sometimes long… sometimes winding… sometimes “Lord, are we there yet?” road to healing and humility… all right here on Heartfelt Conversations with Diana.
I’m going to start our conversation today with Psalm 91 from the Amplified Bible -
Psalm 91:1: (AMP) He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will remain secure and rest in the shadow of the Almighty [whose power no enemy can withstand].
I was having a hard time, struggling with fears, nightmares, horrors, and the shame of my past. I was tense all of the time. Ready for something horrible to come get me. Disrupt this little bit of life I was building by learning to follow Jesus - then one night, a few years ago, God brought this verse alive to me, and I knew if I stayed close to Him, under His shadow, I had no reason to be afraid. I was protected under His covering. His roof, so to speak.
And as I began to walk and live intentionally under His shadow, I began to feel safe enough to sit with Him when the dangers came, when the enemy came. When the alarms go off, when the flight or fight adrenaline flows - I am learning to sit and wait and see what He has already prepared for me.
I am in close, tight, I know that I am under the wing of the Almighty and seated at His table as the Lord of hosts, but like we discussed last time, just getting to the Shepherd’s table can feel like a miracle all in itself; staying seated can feel like we need a bushel full of miracles to keep us there! Right?!
Why? Why is it so hard to keep our faith in God? Well, we have a lot of distractions that come to our chair and whisper words of fear, of all the pressure and challenges we are facing. We know our own stuff, the things about us we don’t like & try to hide, our own unworthiness, so it can feel intangible to believe in a Holy, Worthy, Lord God Almighty.
It can be extremely difficult to trust God when the whispers and lies and distortion of truth try to steal even the smallest of “faith crumbs” we may be trying to savor.
We often try to hold on with our strength, our might, our confidence. The reality is that we put pressure on ourselves to perform, to wrongly convince ourselves that we should be able to handle this “thing” on our own.
Have you ever said to yourself, “Oh, come on, why are you being such a baby?” Why are you struggling with “this” again?” “Why can’t I ever seem to get over ‘this?”
We can get all distracted by the noise of our minds, our thoughts, our inner turmoil, and forget to rest. To rest at the table.
Have you ever gone to lunch with a friend, and 3 hours later, you are like, Oh my gosh, I can’t believe we sat here for 3 hours, where did the time go?
Or gone to lunch with someone you didn’t know very well, and the conversation was a little uncomfortable, or forced. You really didn’t know what to say to them, and they didn’t engage with you at all! The time didn’t fly by; it crawled!
You looked at the clock on the wall, thinking it would have been an hour, a respectable time to stay, and when you looked, you looked at the clock again because an hour didn’t go by; it had only been 15 minutes, and you were ready to leave. 45 more minutes will be torture! LOL
What I have found in my own life is that the shorter the visits with the Lord, my Shepherd, the quicker I am distracted by my own thoughts. I don’t stay long because my mind is filled with all of the things that pull my attention. We all have struggles with something: finances, relationships, our children, maybe grandchildren, our jobs and careers, fears about the future, shame of the past. There are so many things that can pull our thoughts away from the table of God’s provision and protection when we have more stinkin’ thinkin’ going on than having a heart fixed on the goodness of God. On His faithfulness and steadfastness. Or because we haven’t been spending time with Him and now the relationship feels weird, distant, and uncomfortable.
I have found through my own journey that when I am well nourished and have been resting in God’s word that I can handle the battles of the day with His grace and strength, but during the times I think I am too busy to spend time in His word, or spend time in His presence, that’s when the battles and challenges and disruptions of the day arise, my disposition is not always at its best. I am more easily agitated, aggravated. A little frumpy and grumpy if you know what I mean. LOL
Our good Father wants us to know, to know, to know, to know, that His table is a place of comfort and provision and protection. It is at His table where we will be served heaping helpings of revival, renewal, satisfaction, and zeal. Of boldness, increased faith, trust, and strength.
God wants us to know that when we spend time, quality time like a 3-hour lunch with a good friend, with Him, that we will be filled with an overflowing cup of His provision, His comfort, His strength, His wisdom, His joy, even during times of fear, of life’s daily pressures. It is in Him we can walk safely through the darkest of valleys, because He is with us. He is watching over our well-being, our security and safety, our comfort, and our health. He is our daily portion.
I am NOT saying you have to spend 3 hours every day with God; what I am saying is that you do need some time with him.
It’s kinda like a friend of mine reminded me that I often say, “ You have to date Jesus. Get to know Him, develop the relationship over time, and have a more intimate relationship with Him.
Do you need to be revived and satisfied? Then sit at the Shepherd’s table, and you will find everything you need in His presence.
God has no desire for us to roam around aimlessly in dry deserts, in raging storms, in times of fear and drought with no hope, with no comfort, all alone without Him. Without all the promises of our inheritance under the provision of the new covenant.
It has taken me a long time to realize that the bigger my giants, the harder the trail, the darker the night, the more I need His presence and His promises over me.
Sometimes sitting at the table can feel like forever. It can be similar to when you go out for dinner and the “host or hostess” seats you, and then hours pass by before the “server” comes! Or at least it feels like hours when often it is more like minutes.
Or am I the only one who becomes impatient having to wait?! 🙂
It is so easy to be all happy-go-lucky when life feels good to our flesh, our free will nature that God created within us, that wrestles and struggles and fights against God’s good and perfect will for us.
Our own personal will fights for existence. And not just existence, but the throne that rules over all things, me. me, me, me, me, me, mine, mine, mine! Our free will can live in the 2-to 3-year-old toddler phase, where everything seems to be answered with an emphatic NO! Or, MINE! Unless, of course, the response comes in screaming and whaling and kicking because the answer we want or the lack of the answer we wanted is so traumatic that words simply will not do!
This situation requires immediate Action! And the temper-tantrum begins!
Have you ever had a toddler in your household? Or even witnessed the response of a toddler when they do not get an answer they want immediately, or it is NOT the answer they wanted to hear. Or if they are given a boundary, a do not enter sign, along their exploring journey, and when that restriction is applied, wow! This sweet little child morphs into a little devil!! You are just amazed how fast, in a flip of a switch, the behavior turned from pleasant to preposterous.
If you haven’t ever noticed, pay attention to how in your own self, when confronted with a boundary, a restriction, detour, an answer you didn’t anticipate, just begin to be aware of how all normal, common sense you once possessed not 5 minutes ago have jumped up from the table and left with not even the attempt of good manors, “may I be excused please?” hahaha - do people even use good manners anymore? Are they still being taught?
Civility, common courtesy, good manners. Who likes sitting at the dinner table with someone who has no table manners at all!
Who likes merging over in a traffic incident or road construction only to be cut off by someone else flying by and at the very last second pulls in front of you when you were moving at a nice, courteous pace for the driver in front and behind you, and then suddenly you are slamming on your brakes hoping everyone in your rear view mirror doesn’t slam into your rear end!
Are you one of those impatient people?? Come on, admit it! LOL
I used to be! I was awful on the road. I was always in a hurry! Always somewhere I had to be, and I had to be there now!
My younger kids hated it when someone cut me off or irritated me while I was driving, I would yell and scream and give them the good ole stink eye! Haha
My kids would be like, ‘Mom, don’t look, just don’t look at them!” Almost begging me to behave myself. To display the good manners that I was always lecturing them on.
“Be polite! Say Please.” Say “Thank You. “Share”
My actions and my words were not merging very well together, and it created a lot of traffic jams when it came to modeling a good life for my own children.
If we want our relationships to change, if we want our work relationships, our home relationships, our friendships, and general relationships towards others to be healthy, to be stable, then we have to know how to exhibit good manners at God’s table.
To sit, to engage, to eat, to relax, and get filled up and fueled up. Because if we are distracted and disengaged and enraged by our own self-will, our flesh, then we will miss out on some of God’s portion of supply that will help keep us nourished throughout the whole day.
How do we come to the table of common ground as a person, a couple, a team, a city, a state, a country, a nation, if we don’t first come to the table dressed in basic civility and how do we develop and strengthen our ability to even possess civility when we won’t even take 5 minutes to sit at God’s table first?
Because let’s be honest, it can be very hard to put the concerns and cares and struggles and hardships of others, in equal portions, of needing God’s touch for our own good. Don’t we have a tendency to focus on our “needs” more than others? Be self- focused. I think it is called self-care.
I believe we all need a little self- care from time to time, and for me, it is a must! To have some healthy alone time for healing, rest, and re-filling, but if we are not careful, we can become too self-indulgent. I know. Because I did. I got so involved with myself. With my past, with my pain, with my grief and grievance with God, I forgot I had 5 other little ones counting on me as their mom.
Individually.
Meaning each one of my children needed me to be their mom, to be their guide through all the craziness of growing up, but I was not a stable guide. How could I be when I left God’s table to feed myself and got lost on the path named “it’s all about me!”
But, free will, baby! Lol - Be careful how you choose
Are you wise with your decisions? I am now, but there was a time when I wasn’t. I did not have prudence. It was not advisable. You couldn’t tell me anything. My heart was hardening and my head, my strong, tenacious, determined free-will head,
Well, that took the hard-headed path a looong time before my heart! lol
It would have been so easy for God to create all of us with a will only set for Him. He could have programmed us to worship Him, serve Him, obey Him, but He didn’t, intentionally.
It was with intentionality that God designed you and me to have our own free will. He wants us to love Him because it is authentic, genuine, and real. It is not programmed in us or forced on us.
It is by choice that we choose to believe. By choice, we choose to receive. We confess our trust in Him and express our reliance on Him, and through the gift of our free salvation, we begin to have our minds and our hearts, our souls transform more and more into the likeness of God.
Our manners are displayed in the form of the Fruits of the Spirit. The fruits of God’s holy Spirit.
Without me developing an intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit, I would not have developed the maturity to have the manners required to sit, to stay, and to surrender the whole of my life without Him. Without His guidance.
The Holy Spirit, if we will allow Him to, will guide those of us who believe to find peace, sustenance, and security at our Shepherd’s table, even in the middle of, not in the absence of, our enemies. The enemy of self-defeat, anxieties, guilt, temptations, and all the insecurities we face and are challenged with every day.
Through the help of the Holy Spirit, we learn to shift our focus off the threatening feelings of being inadequate, unable to deal with today’s battles, situations, or circumstances, we shift them off of us or others and shift our focus to God’s presence, managing our thoughts, and refusing to give the enemy a seat at the table.
If you are not familiar with some of the things that the Holy Spirit will help you as a Believer with, here are just a few to make note of:
He Empowers Peace in Conflict:
The Holy Spirit helps believers navigate the "valley of the shadow of death" as we see in Psalm 23:4 in the NLT says: Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.
The kind of peace Jesus left for us is not the world’s kind of peace. It is a peace that only comes from the Holy Spirit to the believer who is turning to their Shepherd.
He de-fogs our brain!
He gives us the ability to discern and actually have healthy “thought management”:
The Holy Spirit, our Advocate, enables us to identify and reject the lies of the enemy, preventing anxious or destructive thoughts from taking over. The Holy Spirit helps us to have the ability to discern lies from truth, God’s truth that He wants you to have, so that you can actually have healthy “thought management.”
The bible tells us to take our thoughts captive, to have the mind of Christ
2 Corinthians 10:5 (AMP) We are destroying sophisticated arguments and every exalted and proud thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought and purpose captive to the obedience of Christ,
Meaning, as Believers in Christ, it is a part of our responsibility to “actively” manage our thoughts.
You would be amazed at how learning to do this one thing - to take your thoughts back from the enemy and replace every negative, damaging, destructive thing he ever planted in there and uproot the poisonous vine like poison ivy and instead graft your thoughts, your beliefs, your behaviors, the whole of your life, to the Vine of Jesus and ask Him to transform your old way of doing and being and thinking into the new way - the Kingdom way He came to teach us.
There is an interesting study guide by Louie Giglio, and he said a few things that got my attention on this subject. I will put a link for it on the notes for today on the website, and I will also post a link on our brand new Facebook page!!
Just a little plug, if you follow a link on today’s notes to our new Facebook page and hit the follow button. We sure would appreciate it!
There are a lot of hurting people, discouraged people, lost people, who have no one, no where to go, no one to trust, no one sharing the truth of the single greatest message, the Good News of the Gospel - the exceedingly, wonderful, supernatural message of God’s redemption of humanity through the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ. It is the best news anyone could ever receive. It is literally life-saving. Eternal life-saving! And it is our hope and goal here on Heartfelt Conversations with Diana to help spread and share this Good News!
Sorry!! Got a little sidetracked there, so as I was saying, I will put a link to: "Don't Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table" (Louie Giglio) on our notes today.
Hopefully, there will be something there to encourage and equip you to be bold and stay seated.
(3) Get your joy back!
In Psalm 23:5, David speaks of God anointing his head with oil. What we need is to sit and rest for a minute, which is what David is saying here.
Psalm 23:5 ( NIV) You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
We’ve been talking about the first part of verse 5, but listen to the rest of it.
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
The Holy Spirit will anoint us with a supernatural joy. He provides the joy and comfort necessary to remain calm and satisfied, even when external pressures, the pressures of life, are just too hard, too demanding, too insane for you to handle alone, at least not without losing your mind! Don’t do that! :) I did for way too long!! Keep your joy. Don’t allow it to be taken from you. It is yours!
How?? By number
4) Fix your eyes on Jesus:
By focusing on the Shepherd, we will shift our focus from the misguidance of our “enemies” to leaning on the guidance of the Holy Spirit, allowing us to trust in our “Host at the table, to God’s protection rather than our own strength.
The Holy Spirit affirms that, because the Lord is our Shepherd, we truly lack nothing!
And when you begin to falter, when you are tempted to jump up from the table too quickly, remember our opening verse:
Psalm 91:1: (AMP) He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will remain secure and rest in the shadow of the Almighty [whose power no enemy can withstand].
Let us all learn to dwell, to remain in the shelter, at the table of the Most High.
Well, my friends, here we are again at the end of our time together! Where does the time go! LOL
Don’t forget to check out today’s notes and all the additional links and resources we have for you.
You can also find Pastor Eric and Alexa’s message: Define the Relationship: A Guarded Marriage.
And the link to our new Facebook page that I hope you will follow:)
All on heartfeltconversations.com
This is the day the LORD has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it! Psalms 118:24:(NLT)
Be courageous and bold! Jehovah Shaphat, The Lord your Judge, is also Jehovah Rohi: The Lord your Shepherd. Whom should you fear?
See ya next time on Heartfelt Conversations with Diana!
Define the Relationship: A Guarded Marriage | Pastors Eric & Alexa Jones
Our new Facebook link:
“Don’t Give the Enemy a Seat at Your Table” by Louie Giglio
https://louiegiglio.com/book/dont-give-the-enemy-a-seat-at-your-table/
Need a church home: Join us at VFC, tell them Diana invited you! 🙂
https://www.youtube.com/@ValleyFamilyChurch/streams
Ponder this….
If God is the Judge…
If His verdict over you is “forgiven and free”…
If He defends the oppressed…
If there is no condemnation for those in Christ…
Then you don’t have to fight, defend yourself, or justify yourself.
With your Helper, the Holy Spirit:
You can stay seated.
Know you are secure.
You do not need to stand guard.
The table is safe because the Judge is also your Defender.
Thirst Quenchers
Songs to Inspire You:
Chris Tomlin - Holy Forever (Live) feat. Jenn & Brian Johnson
Way Maker (Lyric Video) - Leeland [ Official ]
Foundational Encouraging Verses:
Isaiah 42:16: God’s Word Translation
I will lead the blind on unfamiliar roads. I will lead them on unfamiliar paths. I will turn darkness into light in front of them. I will make rough places smooth. These are the things I will do for them, and I will never abandon them.
Isaiah 54:10: Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken, nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you.”
Psalm 119:105: Your word is a light unto our path and a light unto our feet.
Isaiah 54:17: But in that coming day, no weapon turned against you will succeed. You will silence every voice raised up to accuse you. These benefits are enjoyed by the servants of the LORD; their vindication will come from me. I, the LORD, have spoken!
Isaiah 52:12: (EASY) But you will not have to hurry and run away. No, the Lord, Israel's God, will keep you safe. He will lead you at the front, and He will be your guard at the back.
Matthew 7:11: So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
1 Peter 2:23 tells us - When He was insulted, He did not answer back with an insult; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but placed His hopes in God, the righteous Judge.
Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."
1 Peter 2:12 says, “Live such good lives among the pagans that… they may see your good deeds and glorify God.”
The New Living Translation reads it this way: Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.
Deuteronomy 30:19-20: "I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Now choose life."
Luke 6:37 “Forgive, and you will be forgiven”.
Matthew 6:14: If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you.
Romans 8:31 in the AMP Bible tells us: What then shall we say to all these things? If God is for us, who can be [successful] against us?
Psalm 65:11: You crown the year with a bountiful harvest; even the hard pathways overflow with abundance.
Psalm 32:8: The LORD says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you.
Proverbs 15:3: The Lord sees everything, whether good or bad.
1 Peter 5:7: Cast all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.
Additional Resources:
Steven Furtick: Triggered Taking Back Your Mind in the Age of Anxiety
Beth Jones: Getting a Grip on the Basics is a great resource to help you get the basics of how vital you are to God and how good He desires to be to you
https://www.thebasicsuniversity.com
Joyce Meyer: The Mind is a Battlefield - https://joycemeyer.org
Prayer of Salvation
Jesus has given salvation, healing, and countless benefits to all who call upon His name. These benefits can be yours if you receive Him into your heart by saying this prayer:
Heavenly Father, I come to You admitting that I am a sinner. Right now, I choose to turn away from sin, and I ask You to cleanse me of all unrighteousness. I believe that Jesus rose again from the dead so that I may be justified and made righteous through faith in Him. I call upon the name of Jesus Christ to be the Savior and Lord of my life. Jesus, I choose to follow You, and I ask that You fill me with the power of the Holy Spirit. I declare right now that I am a born-again child of God. I am free from sin and full of the righteousness of God. I am saved in Jesus’ name. Amen.
This prayer and the comment above were taken out of the book:
Secrets to Powerful Prayer - Discovering the Languages of the Heart
By Lynne Hammond and Patsy Cameneti
If you have just received Jesus as your Savior, please write Lynne Hammond Ministries at:
PO Box 29469
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55429-2946
Or, email one of the ministries listed on the Additional Resources Tab and let them know that you are a brand-new Christian and need some direction on the next steps for your new life in Christ.
Or email us here at Heartfelt Conversations with Diana, and we will forward your information to you.
Congratulations if you are a brand new Christian or if you have Returned Home! Welcome!!! Get in God’s Word and get it into you.