Through The Valley

"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."

Psalm 23:4

The above verse used to scare me, I wanted no part of "the valley of the shadow of death", thank you very much...

As I become more mature in Christ, things that used to stand out to me have a whole new meaning now and this Scripture is one of them.

It doesn't say "valley of death", however it is emphasizing how in the valley, "death" is just a shadow, an illusion, not real.

It is a reminder that the evil, decaying things of the world cannot harm us, as long as He is walking beside us, they are just scary illusions.

In our lives, we all face transitions and in those transitions comes a point when we must move from point A to point B, it is in that move when we are most vulnerable.

Scared, of what we are about to face, fear, of the unknown, doubt, we can do what we are being called to do, confusion, that perhaps we will fail, impatience, because we aren't moving forward as fast as we want to move.

Upon entering the valley, you have got to remember to continue to move forward, otherwise you will become stuck and now is not the time to stop and have a picnic.

Satan would love nothing more than to find you, alone in the valley, having a self-pity picnic, table for one, complete with lack of self-worth and a little bit of self-doubt sprinkled on top for good measure.

 If you don't allow God to be right beside you as you walk through the darkness, you won't be able to find your way out...

Trust me, it gets mighty dark in there.

Each step you take in the valley, He is walking right beside you, it is up to you to call on Him to guide you out.

When I began this journey, someone once told me, "When and how God chooses to comfort you may come as a surprise, but comfort almost always comes in the form of another human being. The right words, spoken at the right time lift your broken heart and broken spirit. They give you hope that life will go on."

I call on Him, a lot, all day, every day.

I speak to Him more than I speak to anyone, yet somedays I still find myself in the middle of the valley, darkness all around and it still isn't second nature to call on Him to shine a light on my path.

I do know in my heart that with His help, I am greater than what I fear, I just have to remember that.

I believe that during transition, you are susceptible to spiritual warfare, it is during this time that you are weak, tired of fighting, weary, that the enemy will come in with a vengeance.

He doesn't want you to be able to move forward with God, so he will do all he can to hold you back, he will kindly play the trumpet at your pity party picnic.

Which is where my blessed Father found me today, spinning circles in the valley of darkness, after I called out to Him, He sent my dear brother to help pull me out.

Not that G isn't always around, he is, anytime of the day/night.

I know that no matter what, all I have to do is seek him out and he will drop anything, that is a very sacred blessing to me, an answer to a prayer I asked for long ago and He blessed me with a friend who will go the extra mile. No. Matter. What.

The spiritual bond I have with him is unlike anything I have ever known, he knows just by the way I answer something, how my mood is...

I can't hide behind IM or text with him, he just knows and I am forever grateful for that...

He knew today I was swimming in the lake of despair, or as he put it "That is resentment, Sis" and he will allow me to get it all out, yet he will halt a pity party picnic in a heartbeat.

He won't allow me to own my husbands' affair nor abandonment, though I will admit I do try.

He has been one of the biggest surprises in this mess, yet one of the ones I am most thankful for.

The "why" is what gets me and when I ask all I get are "crickets", and yes, I hate it...

(There in lies my pity picnic today....Why, why, why, blah, blah, blah...)

Hate the sin, not the sinner...

That is what I am trying to distinguish between.

I was raised to "do unto others", however I want to raise my boys that you treat people with respect, kindness, love and compassion, regardless of how they treat you.

In the midst of infidelity, it is almost inhuman to ask me to treat my husband like that and when we do interact, it takes all of my strength to do so.

The walk in the valley has been long, the season has been almost unrelenting, yet the bright spots are blinding...

The valley of shadows is not a place to picnic at, it isn't a place to lay down our blanket or tablecloth and it isn't a place to stop and admire the beauty of our pain, this isn't the time to be resting.

The valley of the shadows is a place where the Bible calls us to keep on walking because suffering is not only something we will go through, it is also something that we have to get through, the pathway to obedience and the race that takes perseverance to glory and victory.

The promise of His word, is that God will be with us as we walk.

He will guard our steps, He will give us strength & with His mercy, He will enable us to cope.

He will walk with us even through our unsolved problems, correct us when we need correcting, and in the end, we will come to that new pasture.

He knows where we are going and is committed to guiding us, even if we have to walk through the valley to get there.

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