Word of the Day (7-25-11)

Good Morning Everyone

Today is Monday July 25, 2011

The word of the day comes from Psalm 23:4

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.

My Interpretation

There are many things that jump out to me as I read this scripture: 1) we will have to walk through (not stop) some uncomfortable situations in our Christian walk, 2) what we walk through that is uncomfortable for us may feel like it’s the end but its merely the image of doom and not actually doom, 3) we serve a God who is with us and stronger than our fear so there is no need to allow fear to consume us, 4) the mere presence of God can comfort us.

Now let’s look a little deeper into each: we will have to walk through (not stop) some uncomfortable situations in our Christian walk. A lot of times I think as Christians we believe that because life was so rough for us prior to coming to Jesus that when we come, our life should now be placed in total bliss. No sickness, no discomfort, no fear, no worries, no troubles. Now to be honest, that is correct when we come into Christ those things are rewarded us but that is for when we get to heaven. Revelations 21:1-5 reads:

¹ Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared. And the sea was also gone. ² And I saw the holy city, the New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. ³ I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.⁴ He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.” ⁵ And the one sitting on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” Yes there will be a time when we no longer have to worry about the issues of this life but that time is not now. So what are some things that we will have to walk through? We may have to walk through sickness like diagnoses of cancer, diseases, etc. We may have to walk through more bills than money, layoffs, and low income neighborhoods. We may have to walk through death involving family and friends. We may have to walk through abuse whether physically, emotionally, mentally, etc. We may have to walk through cruel bosses, jealous coworkers, unfaithful spouses, unruly children, etc. But be clear the Word of God says we will walk through not stop! All of us may have to endure these things or variations of these things but because our current situation dictates this does not mean that our future will only reflect this. If the Bible said even though I stop through the valley…then that means I plan on staying there a while. It means that I may be making it a permanent resident in my life. It means that I might as well get comfortable because this may be my living quarters but when it says walk through, that means this is only momentary. So I should not be hopeless in my situation but hopeful. We have to see the difference. If I told you to walk the entire state of California or Texas it would take a while. So for a few months you might still be in California but if you are walking through, you know at some point you are getting out, at some point you will be in the next state. You won’t be in California forever. Same thing: your situation now might say otherwise but you are merely walking through your valley. You are not setting up residence! Be excited!

Secondly, what we walk through that is uncomfortable for us may feel like it’s the end but it’s merely the image of doom and not actually doom. I remember the episode on Martin where he was afraid because he accidentally got one of Detroit’s most notorious gangsters arrested and locked up. When ‘Mad Dog’ got out, the first thing he wanted to do was see Martin. Remember Martin and the gang were in Nipsey’s and they saw the shadow of ‘Mad Dog’ approaching and everyone ran. By the look of the shadow, I thought ‘Mad Dog’ was Zeus “Tiny” Lester (Dee-Bo in Friday). You know who it ended up being? Gary Coleman (Arnold from Different Strokes). Now we all know how big he is but based on the shadow you would have thought he was a giant. That is what the Word is telling us today: we aren’t facing death, just the shadow of it. The shadow is WAY bigger than the actual circumstance dictates but we have a tendency to allow the shadow to make us believe that just the sight of the threat is actually worse than the threat. Do you think if the people in Nipsey’s saw the shadow of Gary Coleman they would be as afraid as they were of the shadow of someone Zeus’ size? Probably not but we let the threat of the shadow be worse than what the shadow represents. Remember shadows always have a tendency to make things appear bigger than they really are.  The scripture doesn’t say we walk through death, it says we walk through the shadow of death. There is a difference. Stop letting the shadow scare you off. Elder Jerome Thomas at our church preached yesterday from the very passage I use anytime anyone says they are sick or have been diagnosed with something (read 2 Kings 20:1-6 on King Hezekiah). Stop believing the shadow of death in the form of doctors, nurses, genetics, etc. Yes fact could be you are diagnosed with (blank) but truth remains that God is a healer and there is nothing to hard for Him to heal that you have been diagnosed with. Stop looking at the shadow of a marriage that looks broken, unfixable, past repairs and see a God who stood at the altar with you and your spouse and committed Himself to seeing your marriage represent the perfect union  between the Holy Trinity (God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Ghost). Don’t let the shadow scare you off from walking through the difficult times in your life. If you walk through, you will get through, if you stop, you will rot.

I could continue (I have a lot more to say) but wisdom says to let this word continue another day to not make it too long J. Hopefully you have been blessed today even though it is a little lengthy.

Have a wonderful, blessed, productive, stress free day!