Sermon Series: Sermons from Psalm 23
Sermon #05: God’s Answer to Dark Valleys
Scripture Ref: Psalm 23:1-6
Psalm 23:4 ‘Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for THOU art with me, THY rod & THY staff, they comfort me.’
Introduction:
In Verse 4 of this psalm there is a DRAMATIC CHANGE.
In Verses 1-3 the SHEEP are TALKING to the OTHER SHEEP across the fence, telling them HOW GOOD their SHEPHERD is to them.
BEGINNING in Verse 4 the SHEEP are TALKING to THEIR SHEPHERD.
‘Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for THOU art with me, THY rod & THY staff, they comfort me.’
There is an old ARAB PROVERB that says: “All sunshine & no rain makes a desert.’ If we NEVER have any DOWN TIMES or any DARK TIMES or any GLOOMY TIMES in our lives, then OUR LIVES will be ALL DRIED UP.
We’ll have NO DEPTH to OURSELVES & NO MATURITY. It takes the GOOD TIMES & the BAD TIMES to bring us into MATURITY. Each of our LIVES are a MIXTURE of PAIN & of PLEASURE, & of FAILURE & VICTORY & of SUCCESS & of MOUNTAIN TOPS & of VALLEYS.
This morning we’re going to take a LOOK at GOD’S ANSWER to the STRESS that comes from the DARK VALLEYS of OUR LIVES.
Even in our DARKEST VALLEYS & even in our DARKEST DAYS GOD is ALWAYS THERE.
Psalm 23:4 ‘Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for THOU art with me, THY rod & THY staff they comfort me.’
In the land of ISRAEL there is a real VALLEY of the SHADOW of DEATH.
It is a DEEP & a STEEP & a very NARROW CANYON..
The SUN only HITS the BOTTOM of it when it is DIRECTLY OVERHEAD at HIGH NOON.
The rest of the time the CANYON is PITCH DARK. DAVID probably led his SHEEP through this DARK VALLEY many times when he was a YOUNG SHEPHERD tending his FATHER’S SHEEP.
As we LOOK in the BIBLE we find that the WORD VALLEY refers to ALL KINDS of ROUGH TIMES in OUR LIVES.
JOSHUA talked about the VALLEY of CALAMITY.
In Psalm 84 it speaks about the VALLEY of WEEPING.
The OT PROPHET, HOSEA, spoke of the VALLEY of TROUBLE.
Psalm 23: 4 DAVID refers to this VALLEY of DEATH or in the HEBREW it means, the VALLEY of DEEP DARKNESS; a FEARFUL DARKNESS.
I mean there are some VALLEYS & then there are some FEARFUL LIFE CHANGING VALLEYS.
HOW do we BEGIN to HANDLE the VALLEYS of OUR LIVES?
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This morning I want us to take a LOOK at 5 FACTS about VALLEYS we need to REMEMBER when we’re going THROUGH some HARD & some DIFFICULT TIMES.
#1: VALLEYS ARE INEVITABLE:
VALLEYS are going to HAPPEN so we might as well learn to EXPECT THEM.
EACH of us have either JUST COME OUT of a VALLEY or we are IN A VALLEY RIGHT NOW or else a VALLEY is JUST AROUND the NEXT CORNER.
That’s HOW COMMON VALLEYS ARE.
VALLEYS HAPPEN THROUGH OUR LIVES ONE AFTER ANOTHER.
We all ENJOY MOUNTAIN TOP EXPERIENCES but AFTER EVERY MOUNTAIN there is a VALLEY.
JESUS was VERY HONEST about the VALLEYS of LIFE.
In John 16:33 HE said, “In this world you will have TROUBLES & TRIBULATIONS.”
It’s NOT a MATTER of IF we’re going to WALK THROUGH a VALLEY but rather WHEN we’re going to WALK THROUGH a VALLEY.
VALLEYS are going to happen.
Job 14:1 ‘Man that is born of a woman is of few days & full of trouble.’
We’re ALL going to have some DIFFICULTIES & some DISSAPOINTMENTS & some DISCOURAGEMENTS in OUR LIVES.
There will be TIMES of SUFFERINGS & of SORROWS & of SICKNESSES.
There will be TIMES of FRUSTRATIONS & of FAILURES & of FEARS.
They’re going to HAPPEN because they are a NORMAL PART of OUR LIVES.
#2: VALLEYS ARE UNPREDICTABLE:
VALLEYS cannot be TIMED or PLANNED or SCHEDULED.
The MAJORITY of TIME, WHEN VALLEYS COME they COME to us UNEXPECTEDLY & WITHOUT any sort of WARNING.
ONE MINUTE the SKIES are BLUE & the SUN is SHINING & the BIRDS are CHIRPING & the NEXT MINUTE the DARK CLOUDS APPEAR & we have to RUN for SHELTER.
They GENERALLY seem to COME at the WORST TIMES & WHEN we are the LEAST PREPARED for them:
Have we ever had a FLAT TIRE at a GOOD TIME?
Have we ever LOST A JOB at a GOOD TIME?
Have we ever been in a HOSPITAL at a GOOD TIME?
Does our MOTHER IN LAW ever come at a good time?
VALLEYS just HAPPEN & generally WHEN we LEAST NEED THEM & WHEN they are the MOST INCONVENIENT for us.
Wouldn’t it BE GREAT IF we COULD PLAN OUR LIVES for OUR VALLEYS?
There is NO WAY to PLAN OUR LIVES like that.
VALLEYS seem to COME UNPREDICTEDLY & they come SUDDENLY.
Have you ever NOTICED just HOW QUICKLY a GOOD DAY can be TURNED into a BAD DAY?
There is an unexpected PHONE CALL or a LETTER in the MAILBOX or a BAD DOCTOR’S REPORT or some FREAK ACCIDENT we didn’t see coming.
VALLEYS JUST HAPPEN.
Jeremiah 4:20 ‘Disaster follows disaster ……in an instant my tents are destroyed, my shelter falls in a moment.’
The VALLEYS in JOB’S LIFE came in the COURSE of just ONE LONG DAY.
WHEN WE ARISE in the MORNING WHO KNOWS WHAT THAT DAY MAY BRING?
#3: VALLEYS ARE IMPARTIAL:
VALLEYS don’t SHOW FAVORTISM.
No one is IMMUNE from VALLEYS.
No one is INSULATED so that they are UNTOUCHED from PAIN & HARDSHIP & from SORROW.
No one is ALLOWED to SKATE THROUGH LIFE PROBLEM & TROUBLE FREE.
TROUBLES & TRIALS & PAINS of LIFE HAPPEN to both GOOD PEOPLE & to BAD PEOPLE.
Matthew 5:45 JESUS taught that ‘It rains upon the just & the unjust.’
PROBLEMS & TRIALS & DIFFICULTIES & DISTURBANCES doesn’t mean that we are BAD PEOPLE.
BAD THINGS HAPPEN to GOOD PEOPLE.
VALLEYS are IMPARTIAL. They DON’T CARE how GOOD we are or how BAD we are.
Often times when we go through a VALLEY our 1st REACTION is “WHY ME?”
But do we THINK that we SHOULD be IMMUNE from PROBLEMS while EVERYBODY ELSE has to GO THROUGH them?
Do you THINK we should be the ONLY ONE in the UNIVERSE that NEVER has a TRAGEDY or a LOSS or LOSSES a LOVED ONE?
We have to always REMEMBER that this is NOT HEAVEN & that THIS PLACE is often FILLED with PROBLEMS & with DIFFICULTIES.
DISASTERS & TRAGEDIES happen to ALL OF US.
One man said, “If I wake up in the morning & I don’t find my name in the OBITURARY SECTION of the NEWSPAPER I consider it a GOOD DAY.
#4: VALLEYS ARE ONLY TEMPORARY:
VALLEYS do have an END to them. They DON’T LAST forever. They do NOT have a PERMANENT LOCATION.
Psalm 23: 4 DAVID says ‘Though I WALK THROUGH the VALLEY…’
The VALLEY is NOT SOMETHING we STAY IN for the REST of OUR LIVES.
A VALLEY is SOMETHING that we GO THROUGH. It is a SITUATION or a CIRCUMSTANCE that is SEASONAL. When we’re in a VALLEY it OFTEN LOOKS LIKE it is a DEAD END, we’re STUCK THERE with NO WAY OUT.
But VALLEYS are LIKE TUNNELS, there is a BEGINNING & an ENDING to them.
Every TRIAL will eventually COME to PASS.
Psalms 30:5 ‘WEEPING may endure for the night, but JOY comes in the morning.
I Peter 1:6 ‘There is a wonderful joy ahead, even though the going is rough for a while down here.’
PETER admits that SOMETIMES we must FACE some TOUGH & some ROUGH TIMES.
This EARTHLY LIFE is TOUGH. I THINK EVERYBODY is AWARE of that.
But they are ONLY for a WHILE.
But PETER STRESSES, there is a WONDERFUL JOY just ahead of us. HEAVEN may be NEARER than we realize.
In HEAVEN there are NO MORE VALLEYS & NO MORE PROBLEMS & NO MORE BURDENS for us to bear & NO MORE PAINS & NO MORE TEARS to trickle from our eyes.
If we are LIVING FAITHFULLY for GOD when OUR FINAL BREATH departs from OUR BODIES there is WHERE we’re going.
PETER says “So don’t GET DISCOURAGED.
Even IF we LIVE 75 or 80 YEARS in THIS LIFE & we have PROBLEMS & VALLEYS our ENTIRE LIVES it is so INSIGNIFICANT when we COMPARE it to ETERNITY in HEAVEN.
I know of SOME PEOPLE whose VALLEYS LAST for YEARS BUT there is a RELEASE FROM IT ALL ONE GLAD DAY. O WHAT a DAY of REJOICING that WILL BE!
SISTER MILLER at Bethel Springs:
The GOLDEN STREETS & the GATES of PEARL & the WALLS of JASPER will seem as NOTHING when we RECEIVE a BODY that will for ALL ETERNITY be FREE from all PAIN & from all SORROW. There is a PLACE FREE from VALLEYS.
No more ALTARS. Not another HEALING LINE. No more HOSPITALS. No more NURSING HOMES. No more FUNERAL HOMES. No more GRAVE YARDS. No more JAILS or PRISONS. No more ABORTION CLINICS. No more DIVORCE LAWYERS. No more CANCER. No more CRIPPLING DISEASES. No more HEART ATTACKS. No more HEARING PROBLEMS. No more HUNGRY CHILDREN. No more FINANCIAL STRUGGLES. No more WORRIES of any sort.
IF we LIVE FAITHFULLY for GOD in THIS LIFE we will ONE GLAD DAY TRADE OUR CROSSES for GLORIOUS CROWNS & EVERY VALLEY will be eternally, forever GONE
There are ONLY TEMPORARY.
#5: VALLEYS HAVE A PURPOSE:
Our GOD is NOT a MEAN GOD.
GOD has a PURPOSE for EVERY VALLEY we WALK THROUGH.
Whether it is a VALLEY of DOUBT, or a VALLEY of DESPAIR, or a VALLEY of DISCOURAGEMENT, or a VALLEY of DEPRESSION, or a VALLEY of PAINFUL DEFEAT, GOD has a REASON behind it.
I Peter 1:6-7 “Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations. That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perishes away, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise & honor & glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.’
These TRIALS & TEMPTATIONS are but for a SEASON. But they are NOT ACCIDENTAL. They are there to PROVE the STRENGTH & the POWER of OUR FAITH.
GOD wants to BUILD OUR FAITH through these VALLEYS of LIFE.
STRONG FAITH is MORE PRECIOUS than GOLD that PERISHES away.
We ALL ENJOY the MOUNTAIN TOPS, when THINGS in OUR LIVES are GOING WELL & there is NO REAL PAIN or SUFFERING or HARDSHIP.
However, FAITH is NOT BUILT during those MOUNTAIN TOP EXPERIENCES.
We’re NOT in a TIME of GREAT NEED or a TIME of CRISIS or a TIME of DESPAIR so we’re NOT REALLY having to FAITH IT.
When EVERYTHING seems to be FINE we don’t REALIZE OUR GREAT NEED & DEPENDANCY of GOD.
OUR FAITH is BUILT during the VALLEYS of OUR LIVES.
When we’re going THROUGH the VALLEYS of LIFE FACE to FACE it is THEN that we GET on OUR KNEES & we really CRY OUT unto the LORD & whether or not we MAKE IT or NOT is NOT just DEPENDANT UPON GOD BUT it is DEPENDANT UPON OUR FAITH in GOD.
There is a PURPOSE in OUR VALLEYS:
The APOSTLE PAUL: II Corinthians 12:
There was given unto PAUL a THORN in his FLESH, a MESSENGER of SATAN sent to BUFFET him. For this thing PAUL SOUGHT the LORD 3 TIMES for its DELIVERANCE. But he wasn’t DELIVERED. Rather, the LORD told PAUL, ‘MY STRENGTH is made PERFECT in YOUR WEAKNESS.’ We don’t DISCOVER HOW STRONG GOD IS until we are MADE WEAK.
Notice Verse #10:
‘Therefore will I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake, for when I am weak, then am I strong.’
There was a PURPOSE in PAUL’S THORN.
THORNS & VALLEYS are the SAME THINGS.
PURPOSES to OUR VALLEYS:
1: They OFFER US the ABILITY to GROW in FAITH & in TRUST in the LORD. JESUS becomes MORE PRECIOUS to us in OUR VALLEYS than at ANY OTHER TIMES. We LEARN to LEAN on the LORD. We LEARN that in OUR VALLEYS GOD does NOT FORSAKE US but HE is THERE to WALK WITH US & to EMPOWER us & to COMFORT us UNTIL we WALK THROUGH the VALLEY.
In the VALLEYS we LEARN just HOW WEAK WE ARE & just HOW STRONG the SHEPHERD IS.
‘Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, FOR THOU ART WITH ME……’
2: They OFFER US the ABILITY to KNOW PERSONALLY the MIRACLE WORKING POWER of GOD & HOW that GOD can DO those things that MAN CONSIDERS to be IMPOSSIBLE.
We would NEVER KNOW WHAT GOD CAN DO UNTIL WE ARE PLACED in the SITUATION where OUR FAITH CAN MOVE the HEART of GOD.
DANIEL in the LION’S DEN:
The THREE HEBREW CHILDREN in the RAGING FIERY FURNACE:
PAUL & SILAS in the ROMAN JAIL BEATEN with STRIPES & awaiting their EXECUTION:
The WOMAN who SUFFERED for 7 LONG MISERABLE YEARS with an ISSUE of BLOOD:
BLIND BARTIMAEUS sitting by the ROADSIDE BEGGING for ALMS:
MARY & MARTHA in GRIEF for 4 PAINFUL DAYS while their brother LAZARUS laid in the TOMB.
The LIST of INDIVIDUALS WALKING in their VALLEYS goes on & on WAITING for DIVINE INTERVENTION from an OMNIPOTENT GOD.
SOMETIMES the LORD REMOVES the STORM but at OTHER TIMES the LORD simply GIVES us the GRACE to SURVIVE the STORM.
However, EITHER WAY the PRESENCE of the SHEPHERD makes all the DIFFERENCE.
‘For if I NEVER had a PROBLEM I’d NEVER KNOW GOD could SOLVE them, I’d NEVER KNOW just what FAITH in GOD could do.’
We can NEVER have a TESTIMONY WITHOUT going through a TEST.
3: They GIVE US a TESTIMONY that SOMEBODY NEEDS to HEAR.
They OFFER US the OPPORTUNITY to BOAST -&-to- WITNESS & to TESTIFY to the GRACE & the STRENGTH & the EMPOWERMENT that GOD can give us while WALKING THROUGH OUR VALLEYS.
SOMEBODY is WALKING through a VALLEY & they NEED to HEAR WHAT GOD has DONE for us.
Psalm 46:1 ‘GOD is our refuge & strength, a very present help in times of trouble.’
DAVID wrote the 23rd PSALM & he wrote from PERSONAL EXPERIENCES.
BEFORE he was OFFICIALLY CROWNED as the KING of ISRAEL, KING SAUL sent a HOST of ARMED MEN to KILL DAVID.
DAVID was a young man ON THE RUN for SEVERAL YEARS & DAVID KNEW that it was ONLY BECAUSE of the DIVINE SHEPHERD’S PRESENCE that he was KEPT ALIVE.
Psalm 34:7 ‘The angel of the LORD encamps round about them that fear HIM & delivers them.’
SONG:
Turn your eyes upon JESUS, Look full in HIS wonderful face, & the things of this world will grow strangely dim, in the light of HIS glory & grace.’
LET GO & TRUST GOD:
Let go of trying to bear it all alone.
