“Even when…” David wrote. Not “if I” or “I might.” He said WHEN.
We will walk through valleys so dark they feel heavy. Valleys so deep they seem a vast, unscaleable pit. Valleys so silent they seem as a grave. We will. Because humanity is failed and flawed. Mankind is, on its own, horrible.
BUT GOD. Oh how I love those two words!
WHEN we walk those paths that are darker than dark, we who have surrendered to God’s will and accepted His free gift of salvation through the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus know that God Himself is close beside us.
He doesn’t send us through those valleys, He walks right beside us. Closely.
Well, yeah, Faye, but what’s so big about that? I still feel afraid. Terrified, even.
I hear you. That kind of dark is scary.
“You’ve got cancer” petrifies.
“You’re worthless” demeans. Physical reinforcement jolts.
“I want a divorce” derails.
“Your loved one has passed” sends us careening.
Looming what-ifs terrify us.
The darkness closes in and we tend to stop right there in that darkness and if we don’t hold the Creator’s hand, we stay there, lost in that darkness, never seeing the Light.
If we slip our hand into His as the shadows start, like a child reaching to the parent for safety, we will feel His power, His strength, His resolve, His authority. If we will settle in our minds before we begin the journey who He is and who those in the darkness are compared to Him, we will understand that this is not a human walking with us to help us whistle in the dark, this is Almighty God who created everything and continues to rule over everything. We will know that the One walking so closely to us is Sovereign over us and all that is in the darkness. We will understand that He is for us and will protect us from the darkness that tears at our very souls.
If you’re on a mountaintop right now, celebrate and get to know God more as you prepare for the next valley.
If you’re in a valley, reach for Him. He’s there and He’s for you. Tuck your hand in His and listen for His voice. Seek Him and light will fill your valley.
If you’re somewhere in between, turn to Him. Seek Him. Spend time with Him. Prepare for the valley to come.
When.
Coffee, Bible, Journal.
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