Psalm 23:4
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
The valley of the shadow of death...
It's that season or situation you've walked through where it seems as though all light as gone out. It's that place of grave news that you weren't prepared for and took the air out of your lungs. It's that place of seeming hopelessness. It's that place of sincere doubt in the character of God, but all the while knowing that His love remains steadfast.
So, what do we do in that place - the darkest valley?
In Psalm 23, David reminds us to be awestruck by the goodness of the Lord even in the valley...he reminds us that we can feast on God's goodness even in the presence of our enemies. He reminds us that the Lord is our Shepherd and we have all we need in Him.
1 John 1:5
God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all.
There is no darkness in the character of God.
He does not lie.
He does not tease.
He does not deceive.
We must know this truth as we walk through any valley here on earth. The father of lies will aim to steal, kill and destroy our confidence in GOD ALMIGHTY, our Heavenly Father.
* The last blog I wrote was sharing our pregnancy announcement.
* This blog is testifying to the faithfulness of the Lord even though we lost our baby through another miscarriage.
We had no idea anything was wrong until my body started to show the signs that something was not okay followed by an ultrasound that showed us baby girl had stopped growing.
April 27-May 1 were the darkest days my husband and I have ever walked through. My body was in crisis mode with so much blood loss. I was in the ER twice within a 4 day period of time and then admitted. A blood transfusion was what I needed. And I received two units of blood + a 15 day supply of liquid iron without any complications. Praise God. May 2 we came home from the hospital and I have been healing physically ever since. My husband and I have been and continue to heal from so much heartache and disappointment.
We have felt it all the past 6 weeks or so.
Anger
Disappointment
Depression
Confusion
Numbness
But we have also felt the kindness of the Lord in extraordinary ways.
We have tasted and seen His goodness even through the valley of the shadow of death.
My prayers have looked like this:
"God, this all feels so cruel, mean and heartless."
"Show me your face, once again."
"Show me how much you love me despite what I feel."
"I just don't understand why you allowed us to walk through this, again."
"Even when I'm angry with You, God, be with me evermore."
I want to share something that my cousin wrote to me a few days back. I've re-worded it a small bit so that everyone can relate to it.
God's Word never promised us a perfect life without loss (and pain), but He does promise to be with us always, even in the valley of the shadow of death. God is with me even in this valley.
There are so many things I don't understand about life on this earth. I tend to think that when I finally meet Jesus face to face, I'll have so many questions I need answered. But lately I do wonder if all those questions will disappear when I finally see the glory of my Heavenly Father...I wonder if all the pain experienced here on earth will truly just fade away at one glance of His splendor? I dare say, yes. I believe so.
Therefore, I will walk through the valley of the shadow of death and I will fear no evil...for I know my God is with me.
And He is with you.
