YEA, THOUGH I WALK THROUGH THE VALLEY
Today’s Text: Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. (Psalm 23:4)
Today’s Thoughts: Today we’ll take a look at just the first part of this text. Life is full of highs and lows. Not all lows are life-threatening, so today we’re going to simply focus on the standard valleys of life. God is with us in every valley. No matter what troubles we may face in life, our Shepherd is there for us. He cares about His sheep. We do not need to fear while in the valley because our almighty God is with us. And yet we all so often tend to fear and stress and get depressed when we face turmoil. God doesn’t want us to. He wants us to run to Him straight away. He can give us peace no matter how dark the valley may be. Turn to Him today.
Today’s Testimony: Today I’m going to share a few portions from my prayer diary. One of the reasons I started keeping a prayer diary in the first place was because my life was in turmoil and I needed strength, guidance and peace. I started using a prayer diary in October 2007. The sections I’m going to share come from the first few pages of my first prayer diary. I’m not going to write everything that I said, but I’ll share just enough to say that God is still very present when we go through our valleys. If we turn to Him for peace, He will grant it. We just need to accept it.
(First day) “Lord, You and only You know what is happening in my life. You see the pain, questions, concern, fear, and yet, at the same time, You see the praise as You heal, answer, provide and comfort. I love You Lord!”
(Two days later) “Lord, I thank You for comforting and strengthening me today through my tears. … Please Lord, stay here, I need You. I’m not doing very well, but I’ve never felt so close to You before. Through all this pain You are refining me. Don’t stop Lord, don’t stop!”
(The following day) “My life still feels like it’s in turmoil. But I realize that it is necessary for my refining process. Lord, I thank You for the amazing peace You continually give me. Today, as yesterday, I went through periods of tears and fears, but You always comforted and helped me through. You are so good!”
(The next day) “Today I just missed tears. I came close to tears, but You dried them before they fell. Thank You Lord!”
I took my tears and fears to my Shepherd and He intervened. He truly does love each one of His sheep.
Today’s Task: I invite you to take all your tears, fears, stress and anxiety to The Good Shepherd. He loves you. Talk to Him about your valley. Allow Him to walk beside you and guide you through it. Take hold of His strength and peace. God is always there for you!
Today’s Thanks: Lord I thank You that You are with us in every valley if we invite You to be. We need Your peace and strength at all times, but especially in the valleys of life. Lord please give us Your peace right now. So many of us are struggling right now. I thank You that You care about us so much, You don’t want to see us stressed, anxious and depressed. I thank You that You will intervene. Help us to know and remember that You are very present when our lives are in turmoil. Lord please grant us Your peace. Amen.
