Sometimes You Just Have to Walk It Through

There are times in life when we just have to go through the process—there are no shortcuts to be had. And for some, this is a hard pill to swallow, but nonetheless it is a part of living.

Even when walking through the dark valley of death I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me, guarding, guiding all the way. Psalm 23:4 (TLB)

The 23^rd Psalm is probably one of the most quoted scriptures from the Bible. People who know hardly anything about the Bible can recite the 23^rd Psalm. In some ways this is good, but in other ways it may not be. And I say that because to recite or memorize something doesn’t mean we have really thought about what we are saying—often it is just making the brain retain words so we can recite them. Which is what I believe has happened with the use of the 23^rd Psalm.

The New King James translation says, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death” which is little more familiar to us.
 
David experienced God and understood the responsibility of a shepherd at a young age. He understood their main focus was to protect and direct the sheep to safety, no matter what the circumstances the shepherd was always there guarding and guiding them. He himself shepherded his father’s sheep. He had fought a lion and bear to keep them safe and from harm, putting his own life on the line for the safety of the flock. So, he really did understand how it worked and had a deep confidence in God and what He could and would do. And the truth is—so should many of us. No, we have never shepherded a flock of sheep before, but, we have experienced God’s greatness in our lives—yet we struggle when we must “walk through”!

It is very easy to say, “Yes though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will not be afraid,” but it is a totally different story to believe it and act on it. There lies the problem for us.

There are trials and tribulations we must experience—just because. That’s right—just because. It could be just because we need to mature in our spiritual life, or maybe we need to be a good witness to someone else. Look at all that Joseph went through so the 12 tribes of Israel would survive. What about Job? And then there are the situations we have created for ourselves—the poor choices and decisions which have altered our lives. We can also go through hard times because of the actions and choices of others, such as our children, spouses, friends and family. Jesus never promised a life of roses to any of us, in fact He assured us there would be trials and tribulations, but we are to be of a good cheer (or keep our joy) for He has overcome the world.

Lately, I see so many unhappy, sad, joyless and complaining women in the Body of Christ, and this leads me to believe that though we can recite the 23rd Psalm, do we really believe what it says?

I am personally going “through” a difficult time in my own life. There are days I just want to give up! There are days, I sit down and cry about things. But, I can’t give up and I don’t spend but so much time crying because I have purposed to spend most of my energy, trusting God through it all. It is a battle of the mind, will, and flesh to trust God in the valley of the shadow of death. It is not an easy fate at all, so don’t think I have the 8 steps to make it easy, because I don’t! But I do know we can get to the point in our spiritual lives where we are not so afraid of what’s to come. We can have peace and joy in the midst of the darkness as we walk through whatever our shadow of darkness is, if we fight the good fight of the faith (complete Jewish Bible) to trust God in the process.

To whine and complain all the time shows a lack of maturity, because that is what babies and toddlers do. But! There is a time to put away childish things. Problem is, some of us have stunted growth and seem to be stuck. We are so overcome with disappointment we are unable to move through to the other side. We are having a hard time taking our eyes off our circumstances, and feel hopeless and lost most days. We struggle to appreciate anything in life because we are consumed with our own grief and sadness.

Yesterday while walking to work, I found myself thinking about my job in the negative (there was a mess of a battle going on in my mind) and I had to force myself to start thanking God! I thought about the people who would gladly switch places with me, if only to have two good legs to walk. I have friends who are blind, and surely they would love to see with the two eyes I have. I remembered a couple of years ago how I had lost my sense of smell and taste for 8 days and I thanked Him for being able to enjoy certain aromas and taste my food. There is always something to be grateful for no matter what we are experiencing at the time.

Sisters, no matter what your “valley of darkness” is today, if you work on “trusting” God, you will not be so fearful. You will not be sad and feel so helpless. But you must work at it.

There are 2 different books I would like to suggest for reading.

1. Secret Longings of the Heart, Overcoming deep Disappointment and Unfulfilled Expectations, by Carol Kent. If you are having a hard time moving forward because of a deep disappointment or great unfulfilled expectations, this will be a good book for you. But I warn you—you must be serious about making change if you get into this book. It also has a 12 week bible study to help you through the process.

2. The Battle Field of the Mind, by Joyce Meyer. This is a very practical book to help us understand how harmful our thoughts are to our spiritual wellbeing and faith. Joyce gives great insight to help us learn how to change our thought process and how beneficial it will be.

Until next week….be blessed!!

Love and Hugs
Ponnie