I have prayed much about what to write next. Many thoughts of encouragement have filled my heart. I have taken many, many notes in my personal diary. But, as I rose to prayer this morning, some final thoughts concerning the verse Psalm 23:4--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. came to me. Indeed there are many words of comfort and encouragement that have been written concerning this passage that have real relevance to our lives. However, if you keep these following thoughts in the forefront of your walk with Him through this valley, you will find your walk more pleasant and your ability to endure a lot stronger.
1. It's not as important to know where you are going as it to know Who the shepherd is. If you find yourself in tough situations that are not of your own making then please understand that you are not the Shepherd. He, obviously, brought you into this valley and He will bring you out. That's why the verse says His staff will comfort me. In the tough situations you have got to trust in a tougher Shepherd Who is carrying a tougher staff. The children of Israel did not understand why they had to face things in the wilderness. But, the ones that knew and trusted the Shepherd made it to the promised land. After all, that's where He said He was going to take them.
2. We have got to dig down within ourselves and learn how to love and trust our Shepherd more than we do anyone else. I am going to say something that sounds harsh and demeaning but be patient and think about it for a moment and you'll see the wisdom. You need to learn how to love and trust our Shepherd more than you love and trust your spouse and your pastor. Again, I am not putting either of these down or asking you to love and trust them less. But, neither one of them led you into this valley and chances are neither one of them know exactly how to get out. Our Shepherd does. It was His love for us that brought us to this particular place on this particular day. Even though things seem hard, His great love for us remains constant. Everyone of us have heard that thousands of times. Even though we have heard it over and over again, if we do not take time to fall deeper in love with our Shepherd, we will never develop the strength to walk with Him out of this valley. Please, please, please try this ONE thing. Take some very important time out of every day and make it a point to fall deeper in love with Him than you have ever been. Take time to fall deeper into His love than you have ever been. There can be joy in the valley of the shadow of death. That joy can be found in His love that overrides all of the sorrow that the valley is bringing you right now.
3. God hammered this home to me yesterday. Our lives are filled with divine appointments. Every one of us have experienced times when someone has crossed our paths and given us a word of encouragement that changed our direction. Situations beyond our control and comprehension have "all of a sudden" appeared that have blessed us beyond belief. Even in this valley, we will meet people that either encourage us or we can encourage them. Right now, you might be needing some encouragement or you might be waiting on a move of God like I am. But, has it ever dawned on you that, right here in this valley, and even today, you might come across someone that you could encourage with a word or action. These are not coincidences. These are divine appointments designed by our Shepherd. He not only divinely appointed someone to help us, but He also divinely appointed us to encourage someone else. When He hammered that home to me, my immediate prayer was, "God, help me to be the obedient sheep and not the aggravating goat today."
In closing, I know that I need a "God thing" in this valley I am going through. I need to also understand that He probably has an appointment for me in this valley to help someone else. Instead of looking and longing for the way out, my prayer now is "Lord, who can I help to come out with me." Spend some time loving on Jesus today. The strength and understanding that you receive from Him will probably help you in your next appointment.
If this blessed you. Don't just keep it. Pass it on. There might be a divine appointment ahead from someone who doesn't even know that this blog exists. This blog ONLY exists to bless others. Much love in Jesus, Henry
No comments:
Post a Comment