“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You have anointed and refreshed my head with oil; My cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy and unfailing love shall follow me all the days of my life, And I shall dwell forever [throughout all my days] in the house and in the presence of the LORD.”

~ Psalm 23:5-6‬ ‭

I remember a time in my life when this verse came vividly true. I’ll never forget that day.

It was a Sunday in December many years ago, when I was in town visiting my family from college in Texas. A couple friends decided to go to lunch after church with my sister & I, so we chose a nearby restaurant & met up there.

We’d done this many times with friends when I’d lived there… yet this Sunday would be different, & I had no way of seeing it coming.

As we walked into the restaurant, there stood a guy in the middle of the restaurant, jaw nearly agape, looking right at me. He was at a standstill, holding a platter or something in his hand. He recognized me, too. Just over 1 year prior, our lives had unfortunately crossed paths in the worst way.

The image of him standing there, staring at me in disbelief, will forever be seared into my memory. 

I promptly turned on my heel as fast as I could & walked out. I walked into the lobby, my sister following close behind.

“That’s him,” I told her in complete disbelief. “That’s the guy…” 

It was like a showdown of good vs evil — me facing this jerk who had forever changed my life. And it happened on a bright, sunny, unassuming Sunday to an unsuspecting me. I just so happened to be in town from states away — & he just so happened to be working that day at that place.

“Are you serious?”, my sister asked & I nodded my head. “We can leave if you want to,” she suggested kindly.

But something within me rose up. Why should I leave? I didn’t make this situation uncomfortable — he did. He was at fault. And I did NOT want to cower to him. If I left, it would mean I was afraid & that he had some kind of power over my life still. Besides, my sister & I were in a public place with 2 very nice guys from our church. We were safe.

“No way. I’m gonna stay here and eat. I shouldn’t have to leave.”

It was a bold move, and one I’m forever grateful I made.

He thankfully was not our server (whether that was orchestrated by him or not I’ll never know). But he waited on the table right next to us for an hour or two, as I sat & ate in peace. He seemed to stall & try to eavesdrop on our conversation, while I felt empowered for the first time ever around him & totally without fear. It made me feel strong, when the year before I’d been so powerless & weak.

The most amazing part was when I looked over & saw him cowering in the kitchen, staring at me through a small window in total shock (& something else). Was that fear in his eyes, as he ducked to stay out of sight from me? Oh yes, I think it was.

It was an epic moment… this enemy of mine was actually afraid of me! Not me per se, but God’s boldness & Spirit within me. Wow.

A year prior, I’d felt total devastation and experienced {what I learned years later} was terrible PTSD because of him. {Mind you, both of these effects would take many more years to overcome}.

A year prior, I’d pressed charges against this very person. He was the reason I transferred schools… because I couldn’t handle the sightings & anxiety & contempt from his buddies.

So this day felt like the ultimate confrontation. And in that moment, with God’s strength, I didn’t back down to a spirit of fear… he did. 

I felt His power surge through me as I faced this guy unafraid. He couldn’t harm me anymore. I also somehow had a wonderful time with our group that day. I’m shaking as I write this because it was a powerful moment in my life, one I’ll always remember. It reminds me of this verse:

“The wicked flee when no one pursues,
    but the righteous are bold as a lion.”

~Psalm 28:1

This guy hid in fear, though no one was chasing him (except his conscience), while I had the boldness to stay & face my fears. It also took me years to see this, but one day I read the scripture below & realized it had come true also — that on that day, the Lord had done this very thing for me!

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You have anointed and refreshed my head with oil; My cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy and unfailing love shall follow me all the days of my life, And I shall dwell forever [throughout all my days] in the house and in the presence of the LORD.”

~Psalm 23:5-6‬ ‭

He PREPARED a table before me in the very presence of my greatest enemy… a guy several years older who’d taken advantage of me intentionally & without much remorse. A guy who lied during his polygraph test & interrogation. A guy who couldn’t be indicted because I waited several weeks to contact police & at that point, no physical evidence remained. My detective told me it would be “he said, she said” in the courts with little chance of justice, so the case was dropped.

{At least on earth.} 

But I know it wasn’t lost on the Lord. I can only imagine how His blood boils when His daughters experience trauma like this.

I learned over time that this guy’s life fell apart after our encounter. For many years since, I’ve prayed for God to get ahold of his heart so he would repent & so he would never do to another what happened to me.

5 years later, the Holy Spirit laid it on my heart to email him. I did, and his response was immediate {& full of fear}. I told him I’d been praying for him and how what he did completely changed my life. But I was so NOT prepared for his response — truly one of the most awesome moments of my life.

This guy, who’d once been so full of wickedness, told me he’d accepted Jesus into his life!! And he shared how he’d been praying for me for years, too. How utterly astonishing… that we both were praying for each other, unbeknownst to the other, especially because neither of us was walking closely with the Lord (or for him, at all) at the time of the assault.

The Lord heard my prayers. The Lord heard his prayers, too. It was all so unbelievable & spoke of the amazing restorative work of our God. I may have never known what became of him had I not listened to the Lord’s voice back then.

He prepared a table before me in the presence of my enemy… He exacted some vengeance in this situation… & He even changed this guy’s life so that today, my enemy is no longer one. He’s now, strangely but miraculously, a brother. Knowing this & God’s promises, I believe the Lord will continue to do a work in his life & change what needs to be changed. {He’s working on me, too, of course!}

When I read this scripture today, I felt compelled to share my story because when God does amazing miracles like this in our lives, people need to know. I never thought I’d share this story on a public forum, but I feel impressed to do so today. The best part is there’s so much more to tell ~ but another time 🙂

What’s your story? And what’s stopped you from sharing it? I hope you’ll consider telling someone what God’s done for you because our stories can change lives! Revelation 12 says,

^“They have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.”