Shadow of Death

 Psalm 23:4
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me..
Walking through the valley of life we often find ourselves traveling through dark places. Places unknown and uncertain. The shadows of death are places where we fear for our lives or the lives of others, financial uncertainty, broken relationships,  the shadows that are cast in our journey cause apprehension of what the future holds and fear that we will not be able to handle the burden set before us. We are grateful for the support and prayers of others around us, but the pain is still real and we may fear that we will not make it. The enemy is tempting us to doubt God’s love and care for us. But in the mists of the dark shadow, God is there, He has promised never to leave us or forsake us. He is there in the good times and in the bad times. He is the Great Shepherd, and He will take care of His sheep. He will guide and protect us as we walk through the valley of the shadow of death.

The Secret Place

 Psalm 91:1
He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
Where is this secret place? Jesus talks about a secret place. “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly." The secret place is where you and God meet, it is the place where the world is shut out, the things of this world are put aside, and all your attention is given to worship and time spent with God. Prayer is not done like the Publicans who stand on the counter in the public arena and pray so that they may be seen by others. Dwelling in His presence is to constantly be aware that Jesus is the center and focus of what you do. In the presence of the Almighty,  we are careful what we say, how we act, and how we think. This is our permanent residence, this is home. We may not seclude ourselves in a literal closet, but the Holy Spirit abides in our heart, and we allow Him to dwell within us and we in Him. We can have confidence that whatever comes our way, we are in His care and He does what is good and best.

He is Our Lamp

2 Sam 22:29 For thou art my lamp, O Lord: and the Lord will lighten my darkness.

Darkness is the absence of light. When the lights go off we become disoriented. Confusion often follows, and we begin to question God. David, a man after God’s heart faced dark times and even though he knew what was right and knew the precept of God’s law, he became lost in his own selfish pursuits. But David also found his way back when He allowed the light of God to show him his heart and to guide him out of the darkness of despair. He recognized that in order to escape the darkness, He must always avail himself to the lamps God provided along the way. Darkness brings fear of the unknown, followed by anxiety and stress. We all face times when darkness swallows us up. We don’t always know which way to turn, but we can trust God to be our lamp, to show us the way out of our darkness. Everyone goes through the valley of the shadow of darkness, but like David, we can trust God to be our lamp that will provide the light to see us through.

In The Shadow of Darkness

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Psalm 23:4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me;…

The shadow of darkness makes it way as we walk through the valley. We are surrounded by circumstances that mount higher than mountains. The light of His presence and glory are obscured by the clouds above. It would seem that darkness is all around us and we begin to fear what lies ahead. But even as we walk through this darkness, our faith reaches out to Him and the light begins to break through and fear is vanquished. The evil that would consume us flees. He reaches out to us with His rod and pulls us close to His side and carries us to safety. Safe in the arms of Jesus. The Shepherd of my soul. “Jesus, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, even in the valley of the shadow of darkness.

Under His Wings

Ruth 2:12 The Lord recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust. “Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings” 

We are faced with many predators in life, the greatest of all is the attacks on Satan to cause our faith in God to be abandon. God, like an eagle has His wings stretching out over us protecting us from any harm that comes our way. Each day as we wake and head out into a world that despises all that is holy and right, God has promised to keep us under His wings. Staying under His wings we have come to trust that where He leads, He will take care of anything we might face. Ruth came to trust the God of her mother in law Naomi and believed that God would meet her needs. She garnered the attention of Boaz, and Her trust in God gave her favor in his eyes. God looks after His own, and those who trust Him, He will protect and keep.