The Importance of The Valley

Psalm 23:5-6

5 “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

You anoint my head with oil;

My cup runs over.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

All the days of my life;

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord

Forever.”

There is certainly a reference in these verses to the flat lands in a hilly country, but I think David’s illustration goes deeper than that. God had sustained him through multiple seasons where he had been surrounded by his enemies. David understood the role of a shepherd, but he also knew the protection and provision that God had provided him when he was in great danger. It was in the dangerous valleys that God was able to mold David into the King that he would eventually be. As David looked back on his life, he could see God’s steady hand of protection while He was in the valley of the shadow of death. The valleys are never designed to defeat us. They are designed to motivate us to press into the Lord. It is in the seasons of great tribulations and in our weakness that God’s strength can be made perfect in our lives. Are you in a valley today? I want to encourage you to press into the Lord. He’s preparing you for a mountaintop!

Pastor Amber Clendenin

November 27