Psalm 23: Living Beyond Lack! | Part 5 – Becoming Dark Valley Strong!

 Psalm 23:4 (NLT)

When (not if) I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid (I’ll be dark valley strong), for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.

Dark Valley Trips Are — Good Shepherd

James 1:2-4 (MSG)
Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when (not if) tests and challenges come at you from all sides. ³ You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. ⁴ So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.

1 Peter 4:12-13 (MSG)
Friends, when (not if) life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job. ¹³ Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner.

Dark Valleys Are — A Place!

Even though I walk through the darkest valley…

Isaiah 43:2 (NLT)

When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.

Psalm 139:12 (MSG)
It’s a fact: darkness isn’t dark to you; night and day, darkness and light, they’re all the same to you.

Dark Valley Trips Are — Building!

 Recommended Book: Trust – Dr. Henry Cloud

We can trust God because He – us!

Hebrews 4:15-16 (NLT)
This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do … ¹⁶ So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.

We can trust God because – his is love!

John 3:16 (NLT)
For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

Romans 8:32 (NLT)
Since God did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else?

We can trust God because of – his

We can trust God because of – his

Proverbs 18:10 (NLT)
The name (literally character) of the LORD is a strong fortress; the godly run to him and are safe.

We can trust God because of – his

1 Samuel 17:37 (MSG)
(David said) – The GOD, who delivered me (in the past) from the teeth of the lion and the claws of the bear, will deliver me (in the present) from this Philistine.”