All of us need encouragement – and all God’s people said, “Amen”! AND, all of us go through special times when we need a stronger-than-usual sense of the nearness of God (the kind the author of Hebrews wrote about in Heb 13.5-6). As I was doing some favorite-blogsite-trolling this morning, I hooked an article that speaks about an ever-present God who’s grace finds us wherever we are. It was very encouraging to me personally, as I was reminded that God’s grace pursues me (Ps 23.6); it was also encouraging to me pastorally, as I reflected on the special need-for-grace in the situations of several of our folks. Read and be blessed. (I’ve also included the link because I find a seemingly endless treasure of encouragement whenever I troll on it. I recommend you make it one of your “favorites”.)
Seeking encouragement with you,
Pastor Gary
First the link: http://www.desiringgod.org/articles
And the article:
God’s Grace Will Find You April 19, 2015 by Jonathan Parnell
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. (Psalm 23:3–4)
The grace of God will find you. No matter where you’ve gone or how far you’ve drifted, nowhere is out of the reach of God’s grace.
This is the truth behind David’s words in Psalm 23:3–4. The focus is on the Lord’s active nearness as the shepherd of his people. The Lord makes us to lie down in green pastures. He leads us beside the still waters. He restores our souls and leads us in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
In the Shadow of Death
This is a boundless nearness. It is a nearness even in the valley of the shadow of death.
The phrase is so popular, do we really know what David is saying? “Even though,” he begins, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil . . .” (verse 4). This is death, remember. Death. It is the great enemy of mankind, the place that every person will go — and go alone. Death stands off in the darkness, hunkering down in the shadows of our lives like a monster. It is terrible, lonely, fearful. But not for David — not for us who are in Christ.
Why? Because God is with us even there.
The grace of God will find us. We won’t be afraid. We will fear no evil. The Father will not forsake us. Just like Jesus wasn’t left in the tomb — and because he wasn’t — we won’t be left alone either. God will be with us. Like yesterday, and now, God will be with us even as the shadow of death falls over us.
Help for Today
So what does that mean for us now? How does the assurance of God’s nearness in our final moments of this life help us today?
It means that if God is with us in our greatest affliction — in the shadow of death — he will be with us in all the other afflictions of our lives. Painful as they are, as dark as the night may get, we know it is not too painful for God. It is not too dark for him.
God is there as we walk through the valley of the shadow of death — and he is there in every valley along the way. His grace will find us. That grace that saw us before the foundation of the world, that spoke creation into existence, that led Jesus to the cross, that will abound for us in eternity — that grace will find us.
It doesn’t matter who you are or where you are. The great grace of God is able to reach you. God in his grace is able to be there with you. In the midst of pain and uncertainty, in the high of blessing and cheer, God is with you. His grace will find you.