Psalm 23
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
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 goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

DON’T MISS THE OPPORTUNITY
I love that the Bible doesn’t shy-away from the realities of life. Life isn’t perfect and God never promises that it will be. Right here in Psalm 23 - it says, “when I walk through the valley.” When. Not ‘if.’ We all find ourselves walking through the valleys of life at times. Maybe it’s because of something going on in our family or a relationship. Or maybe it’s not for any particular reason - we just feel as if we’re in a dark place. Whatever the reason may be, we need to remember that what we do with and in these valleys matters.

If you are walking through a valley right now, don’t miss the opportunity!

You don’t need to fear, because, as the next line in the scripture says - God is with you. In fact, the opportunity of a valley is to know the presence of God like never before. He is the God that will meet you at the bottom. There are some amazing things to learn about God when we feel like we have nothing left. There is some real substance to be built in your faith when you have no option but God.

WHAT TO DO AT THE BOTTOM

• What do you do with questions?

In John 11 - we read the story of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. Well, we know it as that story, but the disciples didn’t know that’s how the story went at the time. It actually would have seemed like it was the story of how Jesus did nothing while their friend / His friend got really sick. “Yo, I got questions...” “Why have you not healed him...”

Maybe you have some questions for God when you’re walking through a valley. “Why are you letting this happen?” “Why haven’t you rescued me or changed my situation?” If we were being honest maybe we’d say something like “God, You’re the One person who can do something about this yet it looks like you’re set on doing nothing...”

What did His disciples do when they had questions? I know what they didn’t do. They didn’t leave.

“I don’t get it but I’m not going anywhere.”

And here’s the beauty of it. Staying with Jesus while He didn’t heal the sick Lazarus means that you’re there when He raises the dead Lazarus. Staying with Jesus while you’ve got questions means that you’re there when He brings about a solution you didn’t even see coming. So if you’re going through a valley right now and you’ve got some unanswered questions - turn it into a place of worship. Hold onto God! He will turn it around. Maybe you just haven’t seen the end of the story yet.

• What do you do when you’ve failed?

In John 21 you can read the account of how Peter ‘failed.’ Peter disowned Jesus in the middle of a trial. It’s crazy how in the middle of a challenge you find out your own limitations. We all fail and make mistakes at some point. Maybe in the middle of a valley, you feel like you’ve tripped up and you don’t know how to ever get back up.

I love what happens after this in Peter’s story...

John 21:7-8 “Then the disciple Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It’s the Lord!’ When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his tunic (for he had stripped for work), jumped into the water, and headed to shore. The others stayed with the boat and pulled the loaded net to the shore, for they were only about a hundred yards from shore.”

What’s the lesson here? Peter didn’t stay where he was. He didn’t keep the distance. He leapt out of the boat. He swam. He ran. He got to Jesus.
He is the God who never leaves. But sometimes we feel like in our failure and in our valley, we allow distance between us and God. If that is how you feel don’t stay there. Run to Jesus. He is the God who loves to meet us at the bottom. There are certain things you can learn about Him when you feel like you have nothing left. So don’t miss the opportunity of the valley. Turn it into a place of worship. The story is not over. Your God is faithful!