Yea, Though I Walk Thru the Valley

Where does life find you today? What season are you in?

Spring—Are you in the early beginnings of life? Are you tasting the joy of fresh starts and taking your first steps as a Christian?

Summer—Have you progressed along the way with the Lord to the place of wisdom, of a blossoming knowledge of the One you walk with?

Fall—Are you in a fast-paced, terrific season of tremendous fruit-bearing, of harvest, of reaping profusely from the benefits that come from a close, sustained walk with God over time?

Winter—Are you experiencing endings that for the first time seem to have no new begin­nings? Are you being pressed to adjust to a new path that leads in directions you didn’t anticipate or choose? Are you approaching the next bend in the path with a measure of fear?

As I wrote these words, I was walking through several seasons of life at the same time. In the winter of sorrows and losses, my dear dad died (and so did my husband’s mother). My mother was institutionalized and no longer recognized me in any way. Yet it was also the spring of new beginnings. I welcomed my first two grandbabies—one month apart. And I relished a time of great productivity as I enjoyed health and ample time to write and speak to my heart’s content.

Just like you, I need God’s promises for the seasons I experience. I need them today and for the times I have yet to brave. Isn’t it wonderful that we have a God—a loving Shepherd!—that watches over us? His care is unceasing. His love is unending. His guidance is unfailing. His presence is everlasting.

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

We can thank Him too for the promises He gives us in the Shepherd Psalm that confirm our hope and strength and joy in Him as we grow through and weather the seasons of life. As the psalm’s precious fourth verse promises: God is with us every day and all the way!

A Question to Consider:
Take time to reflect today what season are you in, in the various aspects of your life. How had God sustained and challenged you in each season? What have you learned? What do you think God is trying to teach you in this season?

Find more encouragement for a woman’s soul in Elizabeth George’s book, Quiet Confidence for a Woman’s Heart.

Read Yea, Though I Walk Thru the Valley on Elizabeth & Jim George.