Three Truths to Remember as I Walk Through the Valley

In Psalm 23:4 I read, “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” (NIV)

While I may not be in the valley of the shadow of death right now, I may be in another valley. Valleys are the hard places on a journey, where it’s easy to doubt or overlook God’s goodness. But I’m learning that I can always trust that God is walking through the valleys with me. And he’s promised to bring me through to the other side.

Psalm 23:4 says, “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me” (NIV).

Here are three truths that I need to keep in mind while I’m in the valley:

1. I am not alone. God is with me.

The shadows in my life are evidence of the presence of light. How can I deal with a shadow? I turn your back to the shadow and look at the light. Jesus said, “I am the light for the world! Follow me, and you won’t be walking in the dark. You will have the light that gives life” (John 8:12 CEV).

The Bible says that God is light and that in him there is no darkness at all. Given this I shouldn’t focus on the dark things that scare me: work, finances, or career. When I move my focus is off of fears, then I can focus on the Father.

2. God has a good purpose for my valley.

God cannot do evil. Even when I’m facing problems, conflict, grief, fear, or failure, God is at work, creating good from my valley.

Romans 5:3-5 says, “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” (ESV).

3. The reward will last forever.

I’ll be rewarded for remaining faithful to Christ in the valley of failure, in the valley of fear, in the valley of conflict, in the valley of grief, and in the valley of trouble. I’ll be in heaven less than a minute before thinking, “Why did I complain so much? Why did I worry when I was going through those valleys? God was right there with me all the time, and he was good to me all the time.”

As the Bible says, “For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!” (2 Corinthians 4:17 NLT).

Death can cast a frightening shadow over me because I am entirely helpless in its presence. I can struggle with other enemies; pain, suffering, disease, and injury, but strength and courage cannot overcome death. It has the final word. Only one person can walk with me through death's dark valley and bring me safely to the other side; the God of life, my shepherd. Because life is uncertain, I should continue to follow this shepherd who offers me eternal comfort.  

Life Is All About Relationships

In Philippians 4:12-13 I read, “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” (NIV)

Contentment does not come naturally. By nature, I’m like a restless sheep. Yet I can learn contentment. To learn contentment, I need to stop incessantly grabbing for more.

Philippians 4:12-13 says, “I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength” (NIV).

Like many people around the world, we get overwhelmed with the desire to acquire. This desire pushes us (me) to buy something I really can’t afford, like a mortgage that’s over my head. Then I can get overextended financially, and then I have to constantly hustle to make ends meet. Soon, I become emotionally and physically exhausted, and relationships start to deteriorate. 

The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 4:6, “It is better to have only a little, with peace of mind, than be busy all the time with both hands, trying to catch the wind” (GNT).

The greatest things in life aren’t things. In America it’s considered a tragedy to “die penniless.”  However, nobody ever asks for things in the final moments of life. They always ask for people, because eventually everyone learns that life is all about relationships. So why not learn that sooner? It sure would relieve a lot of stress.

In this passage Paul teaches me that he was content because he could see life from God's point of view. He focused on what he was supposed to do, not what he felt he should have. Paul had his priorities straight, and he was grateful for everything God had given him. Often the desire for more or better possessions is really a longing to fill an empty place in a person's life. True contentment will live in my perspective, priorities and source of power. The power I receive in union with Christ is sufficient to do his will and to face the challenges that arise from my commitment to doing it. 

Contentment lies in my relationship with Jesus, who helps to shape my perspective, priorities, and my source of power. 

Love Helps Me Face the Truth

In Ephesians 4:15 I read, “Love should always make us tell the truth. Then we will grow in every way and be more like Christ.” (CEV)

When I believe a lie, I won’t be able to make the changes I really need. Perhaps it’s a lie about what will make me happy, about what God is really like, or about what real success looks like. I may be believing a lie about myself, or about my past or present circumstances. 

The Bible says in 1 John 1:8, “If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth” (NLT). The first step to change is: to admit that there is a problem and that the problem is in me. When I blame others or refuse to accept the truth, I’m only fooling myself—and establishing dangerous habits. 

Personal change requires that I not only learn the truth about myself, but also face it and take the steps necessary to move forward.

In fact, learning to face the truth about myself is the most loving thing I can do for myself, for others, and for God. Ephesians 4:15 says, “Love should always make us tell the truth. Then we will grow in every way and be more like Christ” (CEV). 

If I want to love myself, God, and others, then I need to face the truth about myself.

The best source for finding truth is to consult the owner’s manual—God’s Word. The only way I can learn my purpose in life is to know my Creator and read the Bible.

To overcome my weaknesses—whether they come from circumstances, my genes, my parents, or my choices—I need to face the truth about myself.

And that truth is found in God’s Word. 

What Am I Feeding My Mind With

In Philippians 4:8 I read, “Brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” (NIV)

I can learn a lot about a person’s physical health by simply looking at their physical diet. Are they eating a variety of whole foods? Are they eating a lot of fast food? Is their diet full of foods that help them grow strong and have energy, or is the food they consume wearing them down?

The same is true spiritually, mentally, and emotionally. I can know a lot about my spiritual, mental, and emotional health by looking at my mental diet.

Consider hours of talk radio, cable news, soap operas, social media, and binge watching is the equivalent of mental junk food. It’s not healthy for me. In fact, it’s poison. It is wearing down my ability to live a life of purpose.

Proverbs 15:14 says, “A wise man is hungry for truth, while the mocker feeds on trash” (TLB).

I have a choice—and every day, I must choose to feed my mind with the best thoughts.

Philippians 4:8 gets specific about the kinds of thoughts that are best for my mental, emotional, and spiritual health: “Brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things” (NIV).

Does this list of things describe what I think about most of the time? If I’m honest, the answer is “no.” My mind doesn't naturally go to these things because I am human and sinful.

So I have to train my mind to think thoughts that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and praiseworthy. How do I do that? By doing it! I have to practice filling my mind with these things by reading the Bible, meditating on it, and memorizing it. I have to hunger for it.

How I think determines how I live. What I put in my mind is going to affect every area of my life—so I need a steady diet of truth from God’s Word.

Spirit-Led Thinking Will Lead Me to Life

In Romans 8:6 I read, “If your thinking is controlled by your sinful self, there is spiritual death. But if your thinking is controlled by the Spirit, there is life and peace.” (ERV)

Making changes in any area of my life requires that I change the way I think. That’s because my brain is where God’s Spirit works.

God’s Spirit works through my mind! Often we use the metaphor of our heart being the place where God works. For example, we say, “I invited Jesus into my heart.” But my heart is really just a symbol for my brain. My brain is where I think—so it’s in my mind that God begins the change process. It’s where the reset will actually take place.

The Bible says in Ephesians 4:23-24, “Let the Spirit change your way of thinking and make you into a new person” (CEV).

I was created to be like God, but that doesn’t happen instantly. To grow into someone who’s more like Jesus, I’m going to have to go through a lot of change and I’m going to have a lot of resets. So becoming a new person in Christ starts with changing the way I think.

When Satan suggests an idea in my mind, that’s called temptation. When God suggests an idea in my mind, that’s called inspiration.

It’s my choice every moment of life which ideas I’m going to hold on to and which ones I’m going to reject. Whether I accept or reject a temptation or an inspiration is all up to me. I get to choose what ideas are going to control my life.

Romans 8:6 says, “If your thinking is controlled by your sinful self, there is spiritual death. But if your thinking is controlled by the Spirit, there is life and peace” (ERV).

God wants me to live a full, meaningful, purposeful life. He wants me to grow in faith and spiritual maturity. But it’s my choice each moment of every day. Will I choose the way that leads to life?

So daily I must consciously choose to center my life on God, find and use God's Word to discover His guidelines, and then follow them. In every perplexing situation, I can ask, "What would Jesus want me to do?" When the Holy Spirit points out what is right, I should do it eagerly.

The Battle for My Brain

In James 4:1 I read, “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?” (NIV)

Every second of life, there’s a battle in my brain. There’s a mental battle going on right now! It could be between right and wrong, between what’s easy and what’s hard, or what’s healthy and what’s unhealthy. 

All my negative emotions—stress, depression, anxiety, loneliness, fear, jealousy—are a mental struggle. All of my internal and external conflicts start in my mind. 

James 4:1 says, “What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you?” (NIV) This battle goes on even when I sleep, in the form of restlessness and or bad dreams. It’s a battle 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

This battle is constant and intense because my mind is my greatest asset. I am my thoughts, will, emotions, and soul. Without my brain, I’m not me.

The Bible says in Romans 7:22-23, “I love to do God’s will so far as my new nature is concerned; but there is something else deep within me . . . that is at war with my mind and wins the fight and makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. In my mind I want to be God’s willing servant, but instead I find myself still enslaved to sin” (TLB).

However, because I follow Jesus, God’s Spirit is in me. It’s part of my new nature. That means that Satan can’t control my mind, but he can make suggestions.

The only influence Satan has in the life of a Christian is that he can put thoughts in my mind. He can get my attention—and that’s a pretty big deal, because whatever gets my attention gets me. Once he puts a thought in my mind, I have to decide if I’m going to accept or reject his suggestion.

Needless to say, there’s a lot going on in my mind and all of it will eventually show up in my attitude and my actions.

I can ask God’s help for me to choose right over wrong, healthy over destructive, and his truth over Satan’s lies. The good news is that God is ready to give me the power I need through the Holy Spirit! 

What’s Slowing Me Down?

In Hebrews 12:1-2 I read, “We must get rid of everything that slows us down, especially the sin that just won't let go. And we must be determined to run the race that is ahead of us. We must keep our eyes on Jesus, who leads us and makes our faith complete.” (CEV)

When I realize I need a life reset, eliminating anything unhelpful or unhealthy is an important step.

If I want to change my life, maybe I need to unplug my TV for a few months or cancel your streaming service subscription. To really change my mind, I have to stop the junk that’s coming in over the Internet. I may need to take a break from the pressures and comparisons and useless information on social media.

I may need to confess a sin. Am I doing that regularly? If not, then unconfessed sin is building up and that’s going to affect my relationship with God, which means it affects every area of my life. To have a successful reset, I need to get rid of anything that has come between me and God. In other words, I need to get rid of my unconfessed sin.

Things in my life that are unhealthy and unhelpful may look like a bad attitude, certain books or movies or music, distractions, hobbies, or habits.

What do I need to get rid of or let go of to help me reset and focus on Jesus as I run my race in life?