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Ingleside Presbyterian Church A Congregation of the Presbyterian Church in America |
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Ingleside Presbyterian Church A Congregation of the Presbyterian Church in America |
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I’ve never been to Alaska, but I understand that not all of their roads and highways are smooth and modern. There is a sign along one Alaska highway that reads: "Choose your rut carefully. You’ll be in it for the next 200 miles." I doubt if any of us are in a rut that is 200 miles long, but we find that life is a series of events—some produce joy and fulfillment; others give us sadness and/or ulcers. There is an old Arab proverb that says, "All sunshine and no rain makes a desert." There is a place for bad times. If you’ve never had any down, dark or gloomy times in your life, you would be all dried up. You’ll have no depth to yourself; no maturity. It takes good and bad times to make a mature person. Life is a mixture of pain and pleasure, of success and failure, of mountain tops and valleys. Today, let’s look at God’s antidote to the dark valleys of life. Ps. 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 & your staff, they comfort me." In Israel, there is a real valley called "The Shadow of Death," located near the ruins of Jericho. It is a steep, narrow canyon. The sun only hits the bottom of the canyon when it’s directly overhead at noon. The rest of the time, the bottom of the canyon is dark. David probably led his sheep through this valley when he was growing up. Valleys are mentioned in Scripture to refer to all kinds of rough times in life:
The literal Hebrew translation of "valley" in Psalm 23:4 means, "Valley of Deep Darkness." How do I handle the dark valleys of life? Five facts we need to remember when we go through tough times: What to Remember in Dark Valleys:
They are going to happen, so you might as well count of them. You’re either coming out of a valley, you’re in one right one, or you’re probably headed toward one. Valleys happen throughout life—one after another. After every mountain top, there is a valley. Jesus was being very realistic when He said, (John 16:33) "In this world, you will have trouble." It is not a question of "IF;" it’s merely a question of "WHEN." You will have difficulty, disappointment and discouragement in life. There will be times of suffering, sorrow and sickness. They are going to happen. They are a normal part of life, so don’t be surprised by dark valleys. You can’t plan them or key them into your Blackberry. Valleys are always unexpected. They usually come at the worst time—when you don’t have time for them or when you’re unprepared. Have you ever had a flat tire at a good time? They just happen and usually when you least need them. It would be helpful if we could schedule bad times in our lives, but it’s impossible to plan like that. Valleys come suddenly. Have you noticed how easily a good day can become a bad day? A phone call, a letter or email, a routine doctor’s check-up, a freak accident. Valleys just happen. Jer. 4:20 "Crash follows hard on crash; the whole land is laid waste. Suddenly my tents are laid waste, my curtains in a moment." The Living Bible paraphrases it this way: "Disaster follows disaster. In an instant my tents are destroyed, my shelter falls in a moment." No one is immune to them. No one is insulated from pain and sorrow. No one gets to skate through life "problem-free." Everybody has problems—believers and non-believers. Problems and difficulties don’t mean you’re a bad person. It means you’re human. Valleys are impartial. They don’t care how good or bad you are. Matt. 5:45 "It rains on the just and the unjust too." When we hit a difficult time, our first reaction may be, "Why me?" In reality, we should ask, "Why NOT me?" Do you think you should be exempt from all the problems everyone else has to go through? Should you be the only person in the Universe who is exempt from tragedy or loss? Keep in mind: THIS IS NOT HEAVEN! Things aren’t perfect here and there are problems and difficulties that happen to Christians. Disasters and tragedies happen to all of us. They have an end to them. They don’t last. They are not a permanent location. David says, "Even thou I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…" You aren’t supposed to stay in the Bible your entire life. It is something you go through. When you’re in a valley, you may think that it’s a dead-end but it’s not. It’s like a tunnel—there is a beginning and an end. Valleys don’t come to stay. They come to pass. I Peter 1:6 "In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials." Peter admits that we go through various trials, but it’s only temporary. There is rejoicing ahead. He’s talking about Heaven, where there are no problems or dark days. If you know the Lord Jesus Christ, that is where you are going. He reminds us not to be discouraged. This life and its difficulties are merely temporary and brief when compared to the light of eternity. 2 Cor. 4:17 "For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison." In other words, hassles don’t last forever. They will be short. There is an eternal glory. Pain can actually be productive, if we learn how to respond correctly to valleys. God has a reason for taking you through the valleys. Whether it is doubt, depression, despair, discouragement or defeat—He has a reason behind it. 1 Pet. 1:6b-7: "You have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perished though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise & glory & honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ." Valleys are not just a freak of nature. God wants to build your faith in the valleys of life. We love mountain tops, but we don’t build faith on the mountain tops. You build faith in the valleys of life. When life is fine and great, you may think you don’t really need God. But when you come face to face with a dark valley, you get on your knees. Faith is strengthened in the valleys.
Bottom line, God wants to make you like Jesus Christ. He wants to develop Christ’s character into your life. He will take you through many of the circumstances Jesus went through. Was Jesus exempt from suffering? No. What makes you think you’re going to be exempt? Did Jesus go through times of loneliness? Yes. Will you? Yes. Was Jesus ever tempted to be discouraged? Yes. Will you? Duh… Was Jesus ever misunderstood, maligned or criticized unjustly? Yes. Will you? Absolutely. What makes you think you’ll be any different? You are going to go through valleys. Does God create evil things to invade your life? No. But God can use accidents and tragedies for good. He can even use the evil done to us by others and it turn it around and bring good out of it by building character in us. David said, "I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod & your staff, they comfort me." What to Do in Dark Valleys:
Refuse to be discouraged. You can’t go around valleys. You can’t go under them. You can’t build a bridge over them. You can only go THROUGH THE VALLEY. Here David says, "I will fear no evil…" That word "will" implies a choice. "I will not be afraid." If you are discouraged this morning, it is because you’re choosing to be discouraged. I don’t know all of your problems. You’re choosing to think discouraging thoughts. I told you about the two guys that decided to commit suicide by jumping off a cliff. They jump and halfway down, one of them is screaming, "Ahhhh!" while the other guys says, "So far, so good." When we’re discouraged, we are choosing not to look at Christ. The good thing is you can choose to NOT be discouraged. How do I choose to not be discouraged? By focusing on God’s power rather than on your problem. You can take two people and put them in identical situations—a chaos, tragedy or crisis… one of them will be blown away by it and the other is actually strengthened by it. A major difference is focus. We need to focus on CHRIST, not the CIRCUMSTANCE. Don’t focus on the SITUATION, but on the SAVIOR. Col. 1:11 "May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance & patience with joy." Human energy runs out. After a while, you run out of gas. Since our endurance runs out, we need a power source bigger than we are. If you think you’re going to make it through the valleys of life under your own power, forget it. You don’t have enough power to handle all the things that are going to hit you in life. You need a Source beyond yourself to key into. God not only promises His power in the valley, but He also promises His presence. You will never go through a valley in life by yourself. Isaiah 43:2-3 "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; & through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, & the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior." God will be with you every step of the way. He isn’t sitting up in heaven saying, "Gee, I sure hope they make it." He’s there with you in the valley, walking with you. God says, "I will lead you through this." There is a strategic change in the language of verse 4. In the first part of the psalm all of the pronouns are in the third person. "He leads me beside the still waters, He guides me into green pastures, He restores my soul." David is talking about God. But when he gets into the valley, it changes to second person pronouns. He’s not talking about God—He is talking TO God. "You are with me. Your rod & Your staff comfort me." It’s the valleys of life that bring us face to face with God. At these points, the ULTIMATE becomes the INTIMATE. When I’m going through a valley, I don’t want to existentially talk about God—I want to talk TO God. Any mature believer will testify that the times they have been closest to God were the times they were in the valley. David reminds himself that God’s rod and staff comfort him. These were the two basic tools that a shepherd used to protect and guide the sheep. A rod was about two feet long with a knot at the end. Shepherds were skillful at hurling the rod, like a missile, at anything that may attempt to harm the sheep. God is saying, "When you go through the valley, I’m defending you and protecting you." Today, shepherds don’t use rods—they use guns. It’s interesting that in the Old West, a gun was also called a "rod." God says, "I’ll defend you." When you’re going through the valley, God is not sitting in heaven unconcerned and apathetic. The Good Shepherd fights for you. He is fighting off spiritual forces. That is what the rod represents. The staff was a long stick with a crook on the end of it. The shepherd used the staff to guide and comfort. He will use the staff to draw the sheep in close to him. He will use the staff to lift them up when they’re down. He also uses the staff to guide them. When you go through the valley, God is using His rod and staff to protect and guide. Now the scary parts of the valley are the shadows. In the darkness, you just see the shadows on the wall and ask, "How am I going to make it?" David says, "When I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…" He doesn’t say, "the valley of death." He says, the "shadow" of death. One day, a shadow is going to fall over your life. But when that time comes, remember three important things about shadows:
Psalm 34:19 "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all." Christians go through valleys just like everybody else does. Christians have disappointments and get sick and get laid off and experience tragedies and lose loved ones. But there is a difference—there is a BIG DIFFERENCE! The difference for the Christian is not the ABSENCE of the "shadow" but the PRESENCE of the Shepherd. God is with you. Let’s pray. Please visit us at our next worship service. We offer "An Unchanging Word To A Changing World" In Christ,
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