Dark Valleys - Death's Shadow

It takes the darkness and fear of the night to bring out the brilliance and beauty of the stars. When we face the fear of the unknown, we often find the grace of God. “Though I walk through,” David said, “the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil because You are with me!”

We are all joyfully aware of God’s presence when days are filled with sunshine and warmth. All of us, however, have at one time or another, entered into valleys that are filled with ill-defined shadows that we find frightening and foreboding. We look for a light to shine over the rim of the mountain to give us the assurance that there is hope. Yet, it is because of those days of sunshine and warmth that David reminds us to remember that God is also with us when all is not well and the light that faithfully guided us fades.

There are times when our “valley” may take the form of suffering. When it does, we must not forget that Jesus also suffered. So it is with us. When we face the fear and darkness of the unknown we often discover the grace of God. And when we feel abandoned and alone we must not forget that those who He spent three years training to be His disciples forsook Him. And remember – when He was laid to rest it was in someone else’s tomb.

Our Savior has walked through every “dark valley” that we will ever have. He understands our grief. Now, He is in heaven with His Father and when we go to Him in prayer with our needs, we have the assurance that He understands our needs. He was there before us, understands us and will deliver us. Know that God will do for us what He did for His Son.

Prayer: We are blest, Father, by Your presence and protection as we pass through life’s dark valleys. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: Psalm 23:4 Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Choices And Consequences

Failure is never a welcome guest. Nor does one choose failure to be an associate or companion. Yet it is something that often invades our lives even though it is unwanted. Yet, from it we can learn some of life’s most valuable lessons.

In Psalm 21 David begins with shouts of praise: “How the king rejoices in Your strength, O Lord...how he shouts with joy because You gave him victory...how You gave him a crown...how You preserved his life.” Here we find David rejoicing and praising his Lord for the gracious gifts that He gave him. He praised God for granting him the desires of his heart and giving him victory over his enemies.

But notice carefully: he realized that the source of his strength, the joy of his victories, his golden crown and the preservation of his life all came from his Lord. He recognized God as his source of strength, survival and success. And in doing so, he gave thanks!

David learned from his mistakes. And wisely, when he came humbly from his victories, he knew who to thank: His victories came from the Lord and he acknowledged it.

God often allows us to experience the agony of defeat and the sorrow of disappointment to learn that we must rely on Him for everything, every day. In this Psalm David reminds us that his strength, joy, victory, rewards and protection all come from God. He learned from experience to trust God. What a great lesson for us.

Prayer: Help us, Lord, to realize that we can only expect victory if we look to You for our needs. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: Psalm 21:1 The king rejoices in your strength, LORD. How great is his joy in the victories you give!

Calling For God In A Crisis

There are some psychologists who believe that our need for safety, structure and stability are more important than nearly anything else. Perhaps they are right.

When we look around and feel threatened and insecure, we become frightened and build what we think are protective walls to make us safe and secure. Yet, often the protective walls we have wrapped around us are suddenly removed and we become frightened and afraid.

Could it be that God is offering us an unplanned opportunity to grow closer to Him? Disaster strikes and we immediately grasp for His protection. We suddenly realize we desperately need Him and since there is no one else to turn to we call on Him for help. We need a “miracle working God” and want Him to do something special for us. So, we call on Him in desperation because we need help and believe that only He can rescue us.

David did not have an easy life. From infancy to old age he knew and experienced the stress and strain and storms of life. We find many examples of this in his writings. One is when he cried, “I give my soul to You, O Lord. All of me – body, mind and spirit – Lord, is now Yours!” Save me and “Let me not be ashamed” for doubting You. David’s army and amour could not help.

Overwhelmed with fear he called upon God. He knew that he needed a power beyond himself and knew Who that power was. And when he called, God answered.

Prayer: May we, Lord, come to realize that in and of ourselves we are nothing and need Your protection. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: Psalm 25:1-2 In you, LORD my God, I put my trust.  I trust in you; do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me.

Divine Deliverance

Our God is a great and gracious God. We see His greatness when we look into the spacious skies at night and see stars that cannot be counted and know that there are galaxies beyond galaxies. We also see His greatness when His Son walked among the sick and healed them, the hungry and fed them, the grieving and comforted them, the distraught and encouraged them.

We see His power and greatness when we look at Jesus on the cross, His resurrection from the tomb when He defeated death, His offer of salvation, His promise of eternal life with Him and His invitation to call on Him “whenever” for “whatever” as long as it is in His name.

David said that God “rescued him because He delighted in him.” Delighted here means “to be mindful of, to be attentive to, to keep, to protect, to have pleasure in...” Imagine the great value that God placed on David. He had a special place in God’s heart and was delivered from God’s wrath and his enemies.

Christians have the same offer of deliverance and salvation through Christ as David did through God. Christ takes God’s wrath from us in the salvation He provides for us. He also delivers us from the power of Satan who would defeat us. He is with us now just as God was with David three thousand years ago.

Christ living in us gives us His presence and power. When we call upon Him and trust in Him, we can be assured that He “is attentive to us, will keep us, protect us and take great pleasure in us” because He delights in us just as He did David.

Prayer: We thank You, Father, for Your greatness and grace that delivers us, cleanses us and empowers us. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: Psalm 18:19 He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.

An Attitude Of Gratitude

Someone has rightly said that when we speak a person’s name we call that one into existence. For example, we can go an entire day without someone mentioning our name. No one has recognized that we are even alive. Does that mean that we do not exist? No. It means that we have not been “called into existence” or “recognized”. We have been “overlooked” so to speak.

David began Psalm 18 by recognizing God and proclaiming his love for his Lord: “I love You, Lord, my strength!” This simple statement quickly describes David’s dependence on God, his intimate relationship with God and his devotion to God. God, David said, was the source of his strength. Whatever he did was done through the strength that God gave him. And He received that strength when he called God “into existence.”

Often we think of “strength” as our ability to “lift” something or “endure” something as an athlete does in a contest. But David was not thinking of that type of strength. He goes on to describe his Lord as a rock, a fortress, a deliverer, a shield, his strength and the horn of his salvation. All of these words that describe God come from a military setting and help us to see that David, in this psalm, saw God as the One who protected him and made him the victor in all of his battles. They are “in His name.”

When David called on God, something happened: he was delivered or saved from all of his enemies. That also happens when we call on the Lord. “Everyone,” the Bible says, “who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Call on Him now to be delivered and saved!

Prayer: Lord, we love You and thank You for being our Savior and shield, our protector and provider. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: Psalm 18:1 I love you, LORD, my strength.