Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil(Psalm 23:4, NKJV).
The greenest grass is always found in the valley. Shepherds and
sheep are well acquainted with the fact that both mountains and valleys are an
inevitable part of life.
Remember – the shepherd has to figure out a way over the mountain
and through the valley. If a sheep is injured, the shepherd must carry his sheep
and tend to its wounds until they are healed and the sheep is ready to return to
the fold. The shepherd’s whole world revolves around the safety and comfort of
his sheep, even in the deepest valley.
Valleys are a certainty of life. Your job is eliminated. Your
husband is having an affair, or your teenage daughter is pregnant. Financial
pressure suffocates dreams, or the betrayal of a trusted friend inflicts a wound
so deep and painful that you long for that valley of death. Each day is thick
with fear, and your heart is filled with disbelief. The valley may suddenly be
before you in a time of loneliness or in the shock of a dire medical
diagnosis.
The death of a loved one can derail a life. The death of a
long-held hope can plunge us into a slimy pit of despair and darkness. Dreams
that have slowly died or relationships that have abruptly ended can leave us
stranded and alone in our own personal valley of death.
While valleys may come in all shapes and sizes, one thing is
certain—valleys will come. That being said, we must ask and answer the question,
“How can we deal with the valleys in life?” We must respond with faith.
Don’t let that word – faith – frighten you. You have faith. You
walk into a dark room and flip a switch, knowing that the light will come on.
You sit in a chair, knowing it will support your weight. You buy a ticket and
board a plane, trusting that aircraft to get you to your desired destination.
Yes, you have faith. It is just a matter of where you place that faith that
makes all the difference in the world. When you place your faith in God, a world
of possibilities and impossibilities opens up.
Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not
on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make
your paths straight.”
It was advertised that the devil was putting his tools up for
sale. When the day of the sale came, each tool was priced and laid out for
public inspection. And what a collection it was. Hatred, envy, jealousy, deceit
or pride…the inventory was treacherous. Off to one side was a harmless-looking
tool priced higher than all the rest, even though it was obviously more worn
than any other tool the devil owned. “What’s the name of this tool?” asked one
of the customers. “That,” the devil replied, “is discouragement.” The customer
asked, “But why have you priced it so high?” The devil smiled and explained,
“Because discouragement is more useful to me than all the others. I can pry open
and get inside a man’s heart with that tool when I can’t get near him with any
other. It’s badly worn because I use it on almost everyone, since so few people
know it belongs to me.”
Are you discouraged…afraid…desperately trying to find enough
energy to simply breathe? God knows. And He really is your shepherd. He
understands that you may only be able to take one tiny, almost imperceptible
step of faith. But He sees you, and just like a parent applauding their child’s
first stumbling step, God will applaud will honor your choice to take it.
