Are there any more beautiful words to hear when you are in a place of darkness, a place of dread, a place of despair?
No matter how strong our faith, this life still brings with it places that are literally in the valley of the shadow of death. And they are scary places. But it is in these places that God wants us to remember that we do not have to be afraid...even when the place is frightening in and of itself. When we remember that He is with us, that He has promised to never leave us nor forsake us, then our fears can start to subside, our hearts begin to beat a little slower, and we can begin to breathe normally. We feel the comfort of His rod and His staff, keeping us on His path of safety. There is such comfort in knowing that we are being guided along the way, especially when that way is swallowed up in darkness.
Sometimes, I have found, you just have to give up making sense out of the darkness, and just trust Him to walk you through it. I have tried to worry my way out of it, but that is when I feel it's sense of terror and foreboding, and that is when the darkness starts to feel impenetrable. But when I call upon the Name of the Lord, He hears me, and He comes to me without fail, to guide me through the darkness into His light that is always ahead.
I want this to be a note of encouragement, even though it could sound discouraging. In this life, I believe that we will all travel through our own valley of the shadow of death. No one looks forward to that journey. But as dark as it is, there is also a blessing when you travel through it. The blessing of knowing that there is no where where God is not also there...that He is faithful, that He is always by our side.
No matter how strong our faith, this life still brings with it places that are literally in the valley of the shadow of death. And they are scary places. But it is in these places that God wants us to remember that we do not have to be afraid...even when the place is frightening in and of itself. When we remember that He is with us, that He has promised to never leave us nor forsake us, then our fears can start to subside, our hearts begin to beat a little slower, and we can begin to breathe normally. We feel the comfort of His rod and His staff, keeping us on His path of safety. There is such comfort in knowing that we are being guided along the way, especially when that way is swallowed up in darkness.
Sometimes, I have found, you just have to give up making sense out of the darkness, and just trust Him to walk you through it. I have tried to worry my way out of it, but that is when I feel it's sense of terror and foreboding, and that is when the darkness starts to feel impenetrable. But when I call upon the Name of the Lord, He hears me, and He comes to me without fail, to guide me through the darkness into His light that is always ahead.
I want this to be a note of encouragement, even though it could sound discouraging. In this life, I believe that we will all travel through our own valley of the shadow of death. No one looks forward to that journey. But as dark as it is, there is also a blessing when you travel through it. The blessing of knowing that there is no where where God is not also there...that He is faithful, that He is always by our side.
The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me lie down in green pastures, He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul; He leadeth me along the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. 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.
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