Got Faith?

Mary Southerland

Today's Truth
"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil." (Psalm 23:4 NKJV)

Friend to Friend

The greenest grass is always found in the valley. Shepherds and sheep are well acquainted with the fact that both mountains and valleys are an inevitable part of life. Again, the shepherd is the one who has to figure out a way over the mountain and through the valley. If a sheep is injured, the shepherd must carry his sheep and tend to its wounds until they are healed and the sheep is ready to return to the fold. The shepherd's whole world revolves around the safety and comfort of his sheep, even in the deepest valley.

Valleys are a certainty of life. Your job is eliminated. Your husband is having an affair, or your teenage daughter is pregnant. Financial pressure suffocates dreams, or the betrayal of a trusted friend inflicts a wound so deep and painful that you long for that valley of death. Each day is thick with fear, and your heart is filled with disbelief. The valley may suddenly be before you in a time of loneliness or in the shock of a dire medical diagnosis.

Shake Yourself Loose From Condemnation

FRANCIS FRANGIPANE


We tend to boast in the power of faith while minimizing the value of hope. Yet, “faith is the substance of things hoped for” (Heb. 11:1). Without first having a living hope in God, our faith is meaningless. Indeed, the first stage of transformation is the awakening of hope.

Yet, even after we come to Christ, we still fail. Often a downward spiral occurs when sin opens the door to condemnation, and condemnation smothers the voice of hope. Consider the story of Israel's conquest of Canaan. The Lord was about to prosper Israel with the wealth of the Canaanites, but only if the spoils of their first battle at Jericho were completely dedicated to God.

A Life Surrendered

And so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.—Esther 4:16

Don't be afraid of making decisions, because the devil wins all standoffs. God teaches us through our mistakes. Your steps will be ordered of the Lord if you seek Him in every endeavor. Don't allow the devil to gain a toehold in your life through procrastination and indecision.

The children of Israel stood on one side of a valley week after week—until a young shepherd boy with a slingshot came along and made a decision to do something about the situation.

D. L. Moody said, "It is yet to be seen what God would do through one man's life surrendered totally to Him. I determine to be that man." Moody was never ordained, but he shook three continents with the power of God, because he realized "all things are possible to those that believe" (Luke 1:37).