The Valley
The Valley
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in 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. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. (Psalm 23)
Psalm 23 is an awesome promise from the Lord, so personal to each of us. God is our Good Shepherd and He knows all about us. He knows that by restoring us back to Him, we will be willing to be led down His path of righteousness. At times, those paths will lead us through valleys of the shadow of death. Most of us hate those paths. Even though the Lord is holding us by the hand, oh, how we resist! It is hard to acknowledge that the God of love is truly leading us through the dark, scary valley. We may even want to blame such terrible circumstances on everything and everyone else instead of submitting to God ourselves. In time, however, we will see that it was only by going through the valley of the shadow of death that the Lord could help us break hurtful habits and behaviors, so that we can receive His peace and rejoice in His love.
Ask the Lord today to reveal any areas of your heart that need restoration. Do you feel dull or numb in certain areas of your life?
Tell the Lord about those places in your heart where you sense frustration and barrenness.
Ask Him to restore them back to Him. Restoration is not always just about life’s obvious issues; it can be very much about life’s less recognized ones.
Take your time to really read through Psalm 23 (again) and listen to the Lord’s impressions on your heart. The Word of God is the most powerful Word you will read or hear today.
When I read this I couldn’t help but think about how good God is! He is perfectly perfect. My prayer is that we will take time today to see the good He has placed in our lives, despite the dark, scary valleys. I loved when it said, In time, however, we will see that it was only by going through the valley of the shadow of death that the Lord could help us break hurtful habits and behaviors, so that we can receive His peace and rejoice in His love. Let’s take this to heart, take ahold of His hand and trust Him to lead us.
God, I trust you with all of my heart. Wherever you want me to go, I will go. Even if it’s not where I planned. Lead me and I will follow. Amen.
Have a wonderful day in The Lord!
Today’s Reading is Psalm 23, Acts 21:18-40
Learning Humility
And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt? (Exodus 3:11)
Moses is named in Scripture as the most humble man ever (Numbers 12:3). Reading of his encounter with God at the beginning of Exodus, we can see this humility in his speech. But, if we turn back a few chapters, we learn that humility wasn’t something Moses possessed naturally. He grew up in the posh setting of Egyptian royalty. After growing up in the royal house, he decided to visit his oppressed brothers, the Israelites. He then witnessed some of them being beaten by an Egyptian (Exodus 2:11). We can assume, by his actions after seeing this, that he assumed it was his God given role to save the Israelites from the oppression of the Egyptians, and he killed the Egyptian (Exodus 2:12). This doesn’t appear to be the mark of a humble man. He eventually fled Egypt in fear and spent 40 years as a shepherd in the wilderness.
God had a plan for Moses from the beginning to save his people. But, Moses did it his way instead of God’s way and in turn, ran away. It was during this time that we can assume Moses learned the importance of humility and was molded into the man God wanted him to be. God often uses these times in the wilderness to refine us for his future works as he did with Moses. You might feel a great call from God for a mighty work, but yet need some refining. Embrace the the wilderness as a time to grow closer to God and become more like him.
Stay patient and learn what it is God is teaching you.
This blessed me when I read it, so many times we get so impatient and frustrated as to why God has us where we currently are in life but it’s in those times that we need to take a step back, humble ourselves and instead of complaining about the wilderness, embrace it, learn from it, grow closer to God and allow Him to mold us so in time we can accomplish what He has set for us to do. Trust Him, even in the wilderness.
Have a wonderful day in The Lord!!
Today’s Reading is Psalm 23
Eye of the Storm
I recently heard this song and it blesses me every single time and it brought me back to this setting of scripture. I woke singing this song to myself early this morning and so I want to share some of the song with you. I’m certain many have heard the song and that’s okay, my prayer is that it blesses you in some way today.
Thank You Lord that you are and always will be in control of every single thing in my life. Your love truly surrounds me in the eye of every storm. May I remind myself each day that I find my peace in Jesus’ name. Amen!
Have a wonderful day in The Lord!
Today’s Reading is Psalm 23
Thanks-Living
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. (Psalm 23:6)
Wanting to mature in her spiritual life and become more thankful, Sue started what she called a Thanks-Living jar. Each evening she wrote on a small piece of paper one thing she thanked God for and dropped it in the jar. Some days she had many praises; other difficult days she struggled to find one. At the end of the year she emptied her jar and read through all of the notes. She found herself thanking God again for everything He had done. He had given simple things like a beautiful sunset or a cool evening for a walk in the park, and other times He had provided grace to handle a difficult situation or had answered a prayer.
Sue’s discovery reminded me of what the psalmist David says he experienced (Ps. 23). God refreshed him with “green pastures” and “still waters” (vv. 2–3). He gave him guidance, protection, and comfort (vv. 3–4). David concluded: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life” (v. 6).
I’m going to make a Thanks-Living jar this year. Maybe you’d like to as well. I think we’ll see we have many reasons to thank God—including His gifts of friends and family and His provisions for our physical, spiritual, and emotional needs. We’ll see that the goodness and love of God follow us all the days of our lives.
Dear Lord, You bless me in more ways than I can count. Thank You for Your love for me. Amen.
When I read this I thought what a fantastic idea now and at what a positive reflection of the year past. Be grateful for small things, big things, and everything in between. Let’s choose this year to count our blessings, not our problems and see what God will do and has done. We have so much to be thankful for!
Have a wonderful day in The Lord!
Today’s Reading is Psalm 23