Devotional Song: … GO TO THIS LINK … Please take the time to take in a YouTube video with images from Marty Goetz singing his arrangement of … Psalm 23 … poignantly singing of God’s promise, as our Good Shepherd, to lead us from the valleys of the shadow of death to His eternal meadows of peace.
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Highlight Verse[s]: Psalm 23:4 [NLT] … 4 Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for You are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.
… Even in the darkest of life’s valleys, our Good Shepherd is there to lead us to His place of eternal safety.
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Highlight Passage [context]: Psalm 23 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Young shepherd boy, David, sing of His Good Shepherd taking him thru then valleys of death to find life for those in the Lord’s flock who follow the Shepherd.
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Reference Passage : … Deuteronomy 31:8 [NLT] … 8 Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord will personally go ahead of you. He will be with you; He will neither fail you nor abandon you.”
… As Moses gives God’s promise to Joshua when things seem overwhelming, we have the Lord’s promise that He’ll never leave us … in fact, that He’ll go ahead of those who trust Him.
Reference Passage : … Matthew 11:28-30 [NLT] … 28 Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”
… Even in the toughest and heaviest of times, we can find rest under our Lord’s guidance
Reference Passage : … John 10:14-16 [NLT] … USE THIS LINK …
… Jesus is our Good Shepherd; and those who know Him as Lord will follow Him out from the valley of fear to the meadow of His grace.
Reference Passage : … 2 Corinthians 12:9 [NLT] … 9 Each time He said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.
… Encouragement and promise from Jesus, thru Paul, that His empowering grace is sufficient to give us His power to cover our weakness.
Reference Passage : … 1 Peter 5:7 [NLT] … 7 Give ALL your worries and cares to God, for He cares about you.
… Peter had it right when we’re in the valleys of despair … to give our cares over to the One Who cares for us.
My Devotional Journal: Today's ODB author, Amy Boucher Pay, used a young woman imprisoned and tortured to illustrate what our faith in a Good Shepherd can - and will - do. The ODB author wrote … Hae Woo (not her real name) was imprisoned in a North Korean labor camp [see photo] for crossing the border into China. The days and nights were torture, she said, with brutal guards, backbreaking work, and little sleep on an ice-cold floor with rats and lice. But God helped her daily, including showing her which prisoners to befriend and share her faith with. After she was released from the camp and living in South Korea, Woo reflected on her time of imprisonment, saying that Psalm 23 summed up her experience.
Perhaps the story of Hae Woo is a word picture of a time (maybe right now) when you found (or find) yourself imprisoned by the despair and fear of VERY tough circumstances. Maybe God felt (or feels) way far away. But just as Hae Woo did and Marty Goetz sings about, we can trust that our God will be there for us; yes, even in the valleys of the shadow of death.
And, He will lead us into His eternal meadows of peace, … BUT, … ONLY IF … we’re willing to do what Peter exhorts in 1Peter 5:7; and that is cast our fears and despair on the Good Shepherd and let Him, as Jesus promised in Matthew 11, take our yoke of fear and burdens of life, … allowing His empowering grace to give us the strength God promised to us in 2Cor. 12:9.
I pray that if any here are walking in that valley, that we see the Good Shepherd up ahead, leading us to His peaceful meadow …and trust Him enough to give us the grace to follow Him.
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My THANKFULNESS: … Oh Abba Father, … thank You, Lord, … for ALWAYS being there when we need You to lead us out of the valleys of despair.
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My Prayer Today: Oh Abba Father, … King Jesus, … I pray, Lord, that all reading here can, and will, join me, in faith, to give over our fears and despair to our Good Shepherd and let Him lead us to His peace. … Amen
Blogger Note: Everyday during this year, my daily devotional blogs are influenced by the reading and study of the online devotional blog entitled “Our Daily Bread,” distributed online via email by RBC Ministries. If you GO TO THIS LINK on the date of my blog, you can read/study the ODB blogs; or you can subscribe to the blog via email at that site.
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