GOD IS NEAR US THROUGH OUR DARKEST MOMENTS!

SEVEN REASONS GOD IS AT WORK DURING OUR TRIALS

PSALM 23

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.

3 He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness

for his name's sake.

4 Even though I walk through the valley

 of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff,

they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

all the days of my life,

and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Although we are blessed to become sheep of the Shepherd and enjoy His care for us, we soon realize that life is still hard. We come to the Shepherd broken, in need of being restored. And that He does, through the Scriptures, as He prepares us for the trials of life.

We all know about the reality of the valley of the shadow of death. The early readers of this psalm were well aware of the dangers of these kinds of valleys: narrow places where the path wound between mountains and where enemies or robbers would attack, for there was no place to escape from them.

You probably can remember or are going through a valley of death, and as you look around, there seems to be no way to escape. During these times, we are tempted to feel hopeless and alone. Ideally, we then stop and pray, asking God to come to our rescue.

David exclaims that even in such a valley, he has no reason to fear evil. He is not afraid, nor does he feel helpless or without hope!

This verse assures us of something important to remember: God does not need to come to our rescue, for He is already there! David’s rest and assurance lies in the fact he knows the Lord is there; in fact, He is the One leading him through that valley.

There will be a big difference in our attitudes, if we realize that God is the One who has taken us through that valley. The valley of shadow of death is part of God’s loving, providential plan for us:

Through the valley, God is testing us.

1 Peter 1:6-9

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials,  so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.  Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory,  obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

Through the valley, God is shining through us.

2 Corinthians 4:7-10

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.  We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair;  persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;  always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.

Through that valley, God is maturing us.

James 1:2-4

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Through the valley, God can be disciplining us.

Hebrews 12:5, 6

 “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,

nor be weary when reproved by him.

For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,

and chastises every son whom he receives.”

Through that valley, God is preparing us for ministry.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,  who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

Through the valley, God is loosening us from the grip of the world.

2 Corinthians 4:17, 18

For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Through the valley, God is causing us to live in hope.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.  For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.  Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.

The valley is a blessing for a believer! Our Shepherd is there, and He has a perfect purpose for each valley. He is armed, both to protect us and to come to our rescue. In His hand there is a staff used to care for the sheep, and at His side, there is a rod, used as a weapon to fight against any dangerous animal or enemy.

We are not at the mercy of our circumstances. We are under God’s care. God knows when we need to be rescued and brought back to Him, and when we need to be protected; in all cases, He is there, leading us.

Don’t get discouraged! Don’t lose sight of the work of God! Don’t become bitter! Don’t become stubbornly disobedient! Don’t lose sight of the presence of God! Don’t look for another shepherd! Don’t forget that God has eternal purposes for this valley!

The shadows are real, death is real, and God is not surprised by our propensity to fear. But He wants us to remember that He is, for His own dear sheep, our loving Shepherd, close by for our care and protection.