(4) “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.”
Psalm 23 : 4 ESV
Now hold on friends, stay cool and open your minds. This little discussion has some very big and important things to say. Make no mistake about it,…God Almighty is always sovereign and in control of all of the events, situations, and circumstances within the lives of all we human beings here on earth. That last statement is of particular importance to those who are “Believers in God, as their Lord and Savior.” It makes no difference what you think or believe,…God is in charge of all things and nothing happens to us without His approval,…regardless of whether what happens is good or bad. Everything happens for a reason and it happens for our own good. God is in charge and God makes no mistakes. That’s It Period!
We are instructed 365 times in the pages of Holy Scripture to “fear not.” We are instructed to take the Word of God literally. Don’t you think God is really telling us something extremely important if He mentions it 365 times?
“Fear not.” That literally means to not be afraid…of anything!
Now I will tell you the absolute truth of my life…I would rather walk with God in the dark than go alone in the light. I would rather trust, believe, and be obedient to God and His Word than to try to make it all on my own.
Some of you may ask why would I say that? I will gladly tell you why. There is an old time gospel hymn whose lyrics say it the best…The hymn is entitled “Trust and Obey”:
When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will, He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.
Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies,
But His smile quickly drives it away;
Not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear,
Can abide when we trust and obey,
Refrain:
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
Not a burden we bear, not a sorrow we share,
But our toil He doth richly repay;
Not a grief or a loss, not a frown or a cross,
But is blessed if we trust and obey.
But we never can prove the delights of His love
Until all on the alter we lay;
For the favor He shows, for the joy He bestows,
Are for them who will trust and obey.
Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at His feet,
Or we’ll walk by His side in the way;
What He says we will do, where He sends we will go;
Never fear, only trust and obey.
Refrain:
Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.
Fact: All humanity was originally created by the God of the Universe…the God the Holy Bible.
We were created to be image bearers of who and what God really is, and we were created for God’s good pleasure. It still is His desire to commune with all of His creation and for each of us to draw closer to Him as we live out our lives here on earth. It is His purpose for our lives that we accomplish His two separate desires for us,…and anything or everything that interferes with those two desires or that attempts to take us further away from God goes against Him and His Will for us. Therefore He will fend off any such activities or distractions and preserve us,…if,… we will only stay obedient to His instruction and keep drawing closer to Him.
God will protect and preserve us as we continue to stay obedient to His Word, as we continue to trust and obey His instructions to us, and as we continue to bring honor and glory to His Name as we live out our lives here on earth.
We live in a fallen world. Consequently there will always be both good and bad things happen to people here on earth. World War II provides a poignant example of how God can allow ugly things to happen to good people and how He can also bring great victories out of seemingly bad or impossible situations.
Cornelia “Corrie” ten Boom (15 April 1892–15 April 1983) was an author and a watchmaker living in the city of Amsterdam, Netherlands. She was a Dutch Christian who, along with her father and other family members, helped many Jews escape the Nazi Holocaust during World War II. She was imprisoned for her actions. Her most famous book, “The Hiding Place,” vividly describes the entire ordeal. This book reveals the tense times she and her family experienced in Holland during the German invasion.
One night, as Corrie tossed restlessly on her bed while war bombers droned overhead and artillery shells loudly burst nearby, she heard her sister downstairs fumbling about in the kitchen.
Unable to sleep, she arose and joined her sister, Betsie, for a cup of calming tea. The sisters talked well into the night, until the sounds of the bombers faded away. The girls knew that the great bomb-caused explosions had ripped and mutilated an entire nearby section of their city. But after the bombers had left the area, all had become quiet and still.
As Corrie stumbled through the darkness back to her room, she reached down to pat her pillow before lying back down on the bed. As she did, something sharp cut her hand. It turned out to be a ten-inch-long piece of jagged metal! She cried out for her sister and raced back down the stairs holding the shrapnel in her hand.
As Betsie dressed and bandaged Corries’ hand, she said repeatedly, “On your pillow!”
Corrie said, “Betsie, if I hadn’t heard you in the kitchen…”
To this her sister firmly said, “Don’t say it, Corrie! There are no ifs’ in God’s world. The center of His will is our safety.”
Corrie later took that same message around the world: “God’s will is our hiding place.”
This very same message was given to all of us many thousands of years before World War II. The Psalmist wrote from the far away hills of the land now known as Israel about God’s protection in the midst of danger. God does not promise a world free from danger, but He does promise His help whenever we believers face danger.
God is a shelter, a refuge when we are afraid. The Psalmist’s faith in God as protector would carry him through all the dangers and fears of life. This should be a picture of our trust–trading all our fears for faith in Him, no matter how intense our fears may be. To do this,…we must “live” and “rest” with and in Him. By entrusting ourselves to His protection and pledging our daily devotion to Him, we will be kept safe.
It is all recorded in the Book of Psalms, Chapter 91 NLT:
(1) “Those who live in the shelter of the Most High
will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
(2) This I declare about the Lord:
He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;
He is my God and I trust Him.
(3) For He will rescue you from every trap
and protect you from deadly disease.
(4) He will cover you with His feathers.
He will shelter you with His wings.
His faithful promises are your armor and protection.
(5) Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night,
nor the arrow that flies in the day.
(6) Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness,
nor the disaster that strikes at midday.
(7) Though a thousand fall at your side,
Though ten thousand are dying around you,
These evils will not touch you.
(8) Just open your eyes,
and see how the wicked are punished.
(9) If you make the Lord your refuge,
if you make the Most High your shelter,
(10) no evil will conquer you;
no plague will come near your home.
(11) For He will order His angels
to protect you wherever you go.
(12) They will hold you up with their hands
so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.
(13) You will trample upon lions and cobras;
you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet!
(14) The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me.
I will protect those who trust in my name.
(15) When they call on me, I will answer;
I will be with them in trouble.
I will rescue and honor them.
(16) I will reward them with a long life
and give them my salvation.”
These are promises from God to all those people who believe in Him and in His Power. He never goes back on His word. He promises to never leave us or forsake us. You indeed can trust in the Lord your God and in all of His Promises to us.
Peace and Love to All of You………………………Poppa Bear