Today's Passage - Psalm 23:4

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Psalm 23:4   "Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me."               Not only God delivers us from the fear of uncertainty, God also delivers us from the fear of sufferings. Everyone is afraid of pains and sufferings, but God never promise a trouble free life. We will all walk through the darkest valley in our lives and in our ministry. Sometimes we are being mistaken and hurt, or even thought that God has forgotten us. But in reality, the presence of God can do things that more that you could ever think or imagine.               In the August of 1990, missionary Stephen Ha was hosting a three nights Praise and Worship conference in a stadium of Taibei, Taiwan. During the conference a typhoon was bringing heavy storms but more than ten thousands attendees bowed in the rain and repented for Taiwan each night. Pastor Nathanael Chou prayed for the conference many times, asking the Lord to stop the storms but it kept raining after the prayer. At that moment, the Lord said to him "Do you not believe that I am with you in the midst of rains?" So by faith he continued the conference regardless of the storm. Pastor Chou later testified that sounds of wind, sounds of storms, as well as sounds of worship and prayer go side by side. Thousands were healed, strengthened, and delivered. They declared in unison that "We have victory in the Lord! When we are not afraid of the storms, the storms will be afraid of us!" Hallelujah! That conference turned out to be a turning point for the spiritual atmosphere of Taiwan.               Is your life in the midst of storms? Don't forget that even though you walk through the darkest valley, you don't have to fear evil, for the Lord is with you. In Psalm 23, the turning point is in verse four. In verse 1 to 3, the psalmist used third person pronoun when referring to God, is He who makes me lay down, is He who guide. But in verse 4, when the psalmist was walking through the darkest valley, suddenly he said, "Lord, You are with me, Your rod and Your staff comfort me" His relationship with God changed from "He and me" to "You and me." Dear brothers and sisters, if you don't walk through the valley of darkness, your faith would not change from "He and me" to "You and me." So let's welcome His leading with joy, even though we might walk through the darkest valley, we will fear no evil, for His presence is everlasting and His grace is forever enough.   Pastor Tong         Dear Lord, I thank you, sometimes You allow us to walk through the darkest valley, but Your presence is not decreasing and Your rod and Your staff will comfort us. I pray that You let us experience the power of Your presence. I thank you and I pray all these in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!