Can God meet our needs in formidable circumstances when our usual resources are out of reach? Consider the experience of King David, who was forced to flee Jerusalem by the armed rebellion of his son Absalom. 

The Bible reports that David and his supporters made their camp near a town called Mahanaim, where they were kindly provided for by men who “brought beds, and basins, and earthen vessels, and wheat, and barley, and flour, and parched corn, and beans, and lentiles, and parched pulse, and honey, and butter, and sheep, and cheese of kine, for David, and for the people that were with him, to eat: for they said, The people is hungry, and weary, and thirsty, in the wilderness” (II Samuel 17:28–29). 

What an outpouring! God showered His love upon David and his men in a way that brings to mind Psalms 78:19: “Can God furnish a table in the wilderness?”

God’s “table” represents the infinite, ever-present good that is always at hand.

All good is spiritual and comes from God, even when it seems that it is people who are doing the giving. No matter how it appears, supply is a manifestation of God, the divine Mind, the only source of life. When those men gave so generously to David—or when anyone gives to another—the giving is ultimately an expression of what we are as God’s children, made in God’s likeness. It is our nature to reflect God. We can give generously because God gives without measure. And when we see others giving, we see God, Love, being expressed by His sons and daughters.

God’s “table” represents the infinite, ever-present good that is always at hand. What is our role in discerning this goodness? David’s example is instructive. He didn’t react with fear or anger to his son’s betrayal. He reached out in confidence to God and yielded to the divine will. He said, “If I shall find favour in the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me again: . . . behold, here am I, let him do to me as seemeth good unto him” (II Samuel 15:25, 26). Through yielding to God, David found God’s table in the wilderness. 

Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer of Christian Science, saw the potential for wilderness to be not an empty or dead-end place but a state of revelation and progress. The Glossary of her key text on Christian Science, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, defines wilderness in part as “spontaneity of thought and idea; the vestibule in which a material sense of things disappears, and spiritual sense unfolds the great facts of existence” (p. 597). The wildernesses or trials we face provide a space or opportunity for us to let go of a limited material sense of life and embrace the spiritual fact of God’s kingdom at hand. 

Christ Jesus began his ministry by stating, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17). And he did more than proclaim this fact; he demonstrated it by healing sickness, casting out sin, and raising the dead. People sought Jesus out, even following him into the wilderness, to hear his teachings and find healing. When there was no food for them, Jesus proved that what seemed a wild and barren place wasn’t barren at all to spiritual perception. The few available loaves and fish were multiplied to amply feed five thousand people. They were nourished morally, spiritually, and physically. 

Christ comes to us to destroy the human sense of lack or evil and to reveal the ever-presence of God, good, here and now. Science and Health assures us, “Christ, as the spiritual or true idea of God, comes now as of old, preaching the gospel to the poor, healing the sick, and casting out evils” (p. 347). Christ comes to us, and we come to Christ. Through our prayers, meekness, open hearts and minds, and willingness to yield to God we come to the table that God furnishes for us. The wildernesses we face are in many shapes and sizes—all of which offer opportunities for discovering God’s ever-present good. 

When I moved across the country to take a new job, friends gave me a wonderful send-off. However, I didn’t have family or friends to welcome me in my new city, so I felt very alone and unsettled. I reached out to God, trusting that His full provision would become apparent in the way that was most appropriate for me. I didn’t want to start by accepting the false picture that something good was missing and needed to be acquired. Instead, since all good comes from God and expresses His love continually, I rejoiced in each evidence of good around me, each expression of kindness and friendship, no matter how small.

I began to meet people both at work and at church. Soon I became friends with a woman who was also a new hire in the same department, and we began supporting each other in the newness of it all. We had fun exploring a few areas of the city together. Several weeks later, another woman invited me out to dinner, and we became good friends. God had set a table before me. 

There is another great benefit to finding the table that God furnishes for us—we are better able to express divine Love by giving to others. Each of us in our own way can be like those who brought provisions to David. Listening for Love’s direction, we will discover appropriate ways to help our families, churches, communities, and those in need around the world. Our giving might include volunteering or making financial contributions—and increasingly can include praying for the healing of the issues facing humanity.