Good morning beautiful,
Growing up, I would hear a lot about being in the valley and how that represented the dark places in our lives. It wasn’t until I experienced depression that I recognized I was going through my valley moment. It was a joyless time for me; I made mistakes and did not feel close to God. I believed that I wasn’t important enough for Him to see me.
Being in the valley is never fun. The cast of darkness can seem overwhelming, but understand that you are not lost! God is still there even when we fail or allow our troubles to overwhelm us. He doesn’t leave our side, but what happens is that the darkness drowns out the stillness of His voice, and therefore, we perceive God to be absent in our lives.
Today, I want you to know that God is with you even when you think you have strayed too far. Maybe His voice seems more distant, but He has not left you. The enemy may try to tell you that you are beyond help or guidance, but I plead that you do not believe in that lie.
The truth is that there is not a place too far outside the guidance of God. He searches for you, and He will not stop because He wants to pull you back into His embrace and out of the enemy’s hand.
Sincerely
Your Friend <3
A moment to reflect
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
In Psalm 23, David described his valley season as “the shadow of death” because he felt he was getting ready to experience ultimate defeat and evil.1 David was in a place where he felt closed in and surrounded by his enemies, and he didn’t think there was a way out.
This is the enemy’s tactic, which makes you feel smaller than the battle you are facing. He will purposefully lead you where he thinks he will influence your life most. He will cast a shadow on you that appears too much to bear to intimidate you and fill your mind with fear. However, the shadow of death surrounding us is not tangible because God already overcame death when Jesus died on the cross. What we are experiencing now is the cast of what death has left behind.2
The issue with being in the valley is that often; we aren’t quite sure how we got there in the first place. This brings me to Matthew 18:12, which says, “How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?“
The sheep described in Matthew 18:12 wanders off, but it is essential to understand that the sheep is not lost in this passage.3 Just like the sheep, we experience becoming distracted or enticed by something and walk off, not thinking that we have gone too far, but we have, and now we can’t see the flock, nor can we sense the shepherd being near.
In Matthew 18:12, this parable describes the value God places on our lives.4 God is patient, but most importantly, He is protecting; He is our Shephard ( read Psalms 23:1). God had already counted on there being times when we would stray off course. In John 16:33, it tells us that we will have tribulation. Meaning there will be trouble and things we fight against. However, God promises never to leave nor forsake us (read 1 Ch. 28:20; 1 Cor. 10:13; 1 Kg. 8:57; Deut. 4:31).
The enemy is the mastermind behind fear but does not hold much power. He may lead us to the valley, but it is not our destination! It is a passing moment in time, and in the same way that you may have walked in, God gives us the strength to walk out.
Being in the valley can appear to be beyond the guidance of God, but it can also be the place where we learn and desire to have a relationship with our Father in heaven. God will meet you where you stand, but it is up to us to follow His guidance–there, we will experience the comfort of our mighty protector.
Daily Challenge
Please think of current circumstances and how they make you feel closed in on all sides and surrounded by a heaviness in the atmosphere. Use your five senses and describe what this place is like. Then, I want you to do the same thing, but imagine your safe place. What are the differences, and can you identify what is needed to get you to that place of comfort and safety?
- Blue Letter Bible, ” David Guzik: Study guide for Psalm 23,” accessed October 13, 2023, https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/guzik_david/study-guide/psalm/psalm-23.cfm?a=501004. ↩︎
- Blue Letter Bible, ” David Guzik: Study guide for Psalm 23,” accessed October 13, 2023, https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/guzik_david/study-guide/psalm/psalm-23.cfm?a=501004. ↩︎
- Blue Letter Bible, ” Alexander MacLaren: The Lost Sheep and the Seeking Shepherd,” accessed October 13, 2023, https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/maclaren_alexander/expositions-of-holy-scripture/matthew/the-lost-sheep-and-the-seeking-shepherd.cfm?a=947012. ↩︎
- Blue Letter Bible, ” David Guzik: Study Guide for Matthew 18,” accessed October 13, 2023, https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/guzik_david/study-guide/matthew/matthew-18.cfm?a=947012. ↩︎
