My Shepherd

 Psalm 23:1
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

The familiar Psalm is a favorite for many. It is a Psalm of comfort and reassurance. Jesus is the good Shepherd that will give us peace during troubled times. In this life there will be trials and tribulations. Trouble times will come, and storms are inevitable. Sorrow and suffering come to all who live, the just and unjust. But those who have put their trust in the Shepherd have been given the promise of peace. Jesus said, “Let not your heart be troubled, you believe in God, believe also in me.” When we find ourselves going through the valley of despair, He is there to lead us and walk beside us. We are prone to fear and fret about tomorrow because it is our human makeup to stress and worry about “What if.” But the Holy Spirit gives us the strength and power to lean on Jesus and let Him direct our paths. I find comfort in the song written by Bill Gaither, “Gentle Shepherd.” For there is no other we can turn to show us the way and give us peace and comfort. 

Gentle shepherd come and lead us.
 For we need you to help us find our way
Gentle shepherd come and feed us
For we need your strength from day to day
There's no other we can turn to
Who can help us face another day
Gentle shepherd come and lead us
For we need You to help us find our way

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.

Wait For God

 Micah 7:7
Therefore I will look unto the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me.

When it seems like there is no one else to turn to, and everyone around you is oblivious to the valley you are walking in, there is one that will always have an ear turned toward you. Such was the blight of Micah as he cried out to the Lord. All the righteous that stood for truth were not to be found, those that he thought he could depend on were fighting against each other. Like Micah, we have a “go to”, a place of refuge, someone who hears our cries and understands our problems. Jesus, who knows our every weakness and promised never to leave or forsake us, extends His grace to us, for His grace is sufficient to take us through the valley and bring us through on the other side with victory. I will wait for the God of my salvation, Jesus cares and will hear my cry.

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.

He Will Save Us

Isaiah 33:17 Thine eyes shall see the king in his beauty: they shall behold the land that is very far off… For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; he will save us.

We look down the valley and the crossing seems overwhelming. The danger that await us are unforeseen, but nevertheless they are out there. God, the creator of all things knows the land that we all cross and is aware of the snares that are there. He is in charge and will not lead us were is grace will not keep us. In our time of need, He will save us from the enemy who wants to destroy us. We see the vastness of the valley and it does not seem possible that we can make it, but God wants us to walk in faith and leave our worries with Him. He will save us and keep us from harm.

Mountain Experience

Micah 4:2 …Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,…

Mountains are used through out the Bible to demonstrate different aspect of our spiritual experience. When we are at the top of the mountain we rise above the problems of life and can better see the big picture of life. Climbing the mountain is not without its difficulties. Most of the time in life we are living in the plains of this world, or scaling a mountain to get closer to God. It is good to be able to get to the top and bask in the presences of God and see His glory. But, the reality of life is that we don’t live there 24-7. We wake up each morning and go about living our daily life with new challenges and there are times we wonder where God is. And in it comforting to know that even in the valley we can see the extra footprints that appear in the sand.  There is a mountain experience for all of us. Let us not be weary in well doing, let us keep climbing till we have reached the top. 

Through It All

Isaiah 40:4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain:

And darkness shall be turned into light. Comforting to know that God can take a bad situation, a hard circumstances and do the impossible. Life is rough and the journey we walk is filled with dark valleys and mountains that are insurmountable to scale. Whatever the circumstance in life, He wants to help us make it through. We don’t need to walk this journey alone, He has promise never to leave us for forsake us. He will take us through. Through it all, we learn to trust and believe that in the face of mountains, we serve a God who cast the mountain into the sea. In confusion, He is our comfort as He makes the path we walk clear to us. He whispers, “Trust Me”. We are left to obey and leave it to Him to do what is best for us.

Our Inheritance

Psalm 47. He shall choose our inheritance for us…”

Read this morning in a devotional that went with last nights sermon. “Some Plants die if they have too much sunshine. It may be that you are planted where you get but little. You are put there by your loving Husbandman, because it is only in that situation that you will bring fruit unto perfection”- Spurgeon. God, the all knowing chooses the valley we walk through because He knows what is best for us. Let us trust His will for our lives even when life does not seem fair. Our inheritance is His plan for our lives.

Life is Tough At Times

Isaiah 40:4 “Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain.”-

Life is tough at times. We have valleys of discouragement, mountains of problems, roads of confusion, and places where life is unpleasant. Facing life head on and trying to overcome the tough times is not easy. Sin had brought about some of these rough times. Living to satisfy the desires of the carnal flesh most often ends in destruction. The wages of sin is death and the way of the transgressor is hard. But for those who are doing their best to serve God and live according to His Word, life still happens and problems are just as real. As a children of God, and one that belongs to God, we can be comforted in knowing that God cares and has promise to make a way through the tough times in life. If there is sin in our lives, He wants us to confess them and trust the blood of Christ for forgiveness. If we are living in obedience to Him, He wants us to commit the things that happen in life to Him. He will bring us out of our discouragement, our problems will seem as mountain hill when He is in control, we can walk with confidence that we are following the right road, and in the rough places, He will bring joy and contentment. 

The Lord Stood With Me

2 Tim 4:17 “Notwithstanding, the Lord stood with me and strengthened me”-

Loneliness and feeling forsaken by others can be a depressing emotion. People get busy with their lives and it is easy to forget that there are other people who may be going through some difficult times. There are times that we may be walking through the valley of the shadow of death, and everyone around us is clueless of the battles we are fighting, or the lonely walk we trod. Paul sat behind prison walls and there were few who took the time to go see him. He was human and no doubt he was confronted with temptations of self pity.  He did not cave in to those thoughts, he remembered his calling and mission that God gave him. He believed he was doing God’s will and trusted God to take him through. He was not alone, God stood by his side to comfort and strengthen him. Even in valley, He is there, He will never leave us alone, no never alone. A comfort to know that God is there, even when others have forsaken us.