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.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death

My dear friend is going through a rough time today. Her Stepmother passed away suddenly and unexpectedly last night. Then she finds out that same day that her husband lost his job. Sometimes life just sucks. Living here on earth is not always what it’s cracked up to be. Life happens. We’re faced with not great things, and sometimes it feels like everything is being piled up on us and is overwhelming. I met my friend a few years ago, and it seems as though her and her family have been going through some really big stuff ever since I met them. They’ve had many deaths, job loss, job change and illnesses to boot. I think if I were them I would feel like I’m walking through the valley.

He restores my soul.

It can be frustrating to watch your friends go through such hard times. You want to do so much for them, but you’re not sure what is helpful and what isn’t. In an attempt to be helpful, we set up a meal train for them. That’s when a bunch of people come together to provide meals for the family. We set one up in hopes that at least not having to think about meals would be a relief to them. But truly the healing they need is not something we can provide, but the restoring of the soul that only Jesus Christ can provide. I pray that comes quickly for them.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

The Lord promises us that when we endure these troubling times, we will gain perseverance, character and hope.

Romans 5:1-5 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

 Rejoice in our sufferings

As I was talking to my friend today, she said to me, “It will be ok. I’m just really sad.” Now I know that doesn’t seem like rejoicing, but it kind of is. It is standing in the hope that the Lord will see us through. My friends faith is a blessing to me, and her strength is amazing. I pray that our church family and our friends will be able to lift her up in such a way that they will be able to look back at this hard time and remember the love that they were shown.