When God leads you through dark valleys in life, his grace shines the brightest. He’ll bring you through your trials to the other side, and your faith will grow stronger from it!
SHAUNA: This is Shauna on Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope. Today Joni has a good word about one of my favorites, Psalm 23.
JONI: It really is a favorite, isn’t it, of so many Christians? So comforting, so encouraging; how our Good Shepherd leads us beside still waters and down paths of righteousness; how he restores our souls. But then there’s that scary part – the place where it says, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.”
I cannot begin to tell you how many times I’ve thought about that verse in Psalm 23 when I was battling stage three cancer. My mastectomy did not guarantee that they “got everything,” in fact, the doctors had to take out a bunch of lymph nodes because the cancer was beginning to spread. I remember waking up in recovery after my operation and my doctor came over to my bedside. I had to ask him the question that everyone wonders, and so I said to him: “Did you get everything? Did you get all the cancer?” That’s when he got this serious look on his face and explained that no, there was no guarantee of that because my lymph nodes were involved. When he left my bedside, I started reciting Psalm 23, but when I got to that part about walking through the valley of the shadow of death, well, that’s when it struck me: God had led me into a very scary place.
And I know you have been in scary places. Places where the medical report was somber, or the accident was serious, or the tumor or the obstruction or the mass was pretty grim. Those are scary places, and we wonder just why our Good Shepherd would even lead us into such a dark valley! But that’s where faith has a chance to grow and become strong. I mean, if Jesus died for us – and he did – if he laid down his life for us, then shouldn’t he know best how to preserve and protect and strengthen our souls? Jesus died to save us from having to suffer hell, but he did not die to save us from suffering on earth. Because it is in those dark, scary valleys where his grace is so abundant, and his presence is especially near. It’s where our need of him becomes more desperate, and our dependence on him becomes urgent. The scary valleys are a place, as I said, where faith has a chance to grow and become strong.
And friend, that’s exactly what happened in my battle against cancer. Even though I had to go through the valley of the shadow of death, I came out the other side with my soul all the stronger for it. It’s like the old saying goes, “If God brings you to it, then he will bring you through it” and that’s exactly what happened to me. Whether or not my cancer ever comes back is not the issue, the point is walking through that valley did a world of good for my soul [something the Shepherd had in mind all along].
SHAUNA: And friend, there’s so much more to ponder about Psalm 23, especially this verse about the valley of the shadow of death. It’s why we hope you’ll spend some time with the Lord, reading Psalm 23 and praying it back to him. And why not share today’s radio program with someone you know who’s battling cancer? Believe me, Joni’s message and Psalm 23 will bring them encouragement and comfort. So, visit joniradio.org today where you’ll find this program and so much more. And remember, whatever problem you’re facing: if God brings you to it, friend, he will bring you through it. Listening friend, we want to pray for you. Go to joniradio.org today and leave us your prayer request. And be sure to share that link with a friend in need of encouragement too. It’s joniradio.org.
© Joni and Friends