There comes a time when you can no longer walk away. You know too much. You've seen too much. You've felt the blessing and the hand of God upon you and you know that now no matter what happens, you will never walk away. You're in too deep. You're too far gone... And you can now say, "God, my shepherd! I don't need a thing. You have bedded me down in lush meadows, you find me quiet pools to drink from. True to your word, you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction. Even when the way goes through Death Valley, I'm not afraid when you walk at my side. Your trusty shepherd's crook makes me feel secure. You serve me a six-course dinner right in front of my enemies. You revive my drooping head; my cup brims with blessing. Your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life. I'm back home in the house of God for the rest of my life." Psalm 23 (The Message) When I first became a Christian, I didn't plan to walk away. No one does. But people do walk away and I was sure that none of them planned to walk away either. So what happened? Why would someone who has been seemingly changed chuck it all and go back to their old, lost way of life? You've heard the saying, "When the going gets tough, the tough get going." That can mean two things. One being that when things are tough, the tough continue on and find a way through it. Or two, when things get difficult, the so called "tough" flee to the easier road. Well, no one said the life of a follower of Christ would be easy or simple. Life is hard and even with the Lord walking beside you, behind you and in front of you, it is still hard. Sometimes people give up too soon. They can't see the light at the end of the tunnel so they throw in the towel because it's so dark and they cannot see. The problem is that it is always darkest before the dawn. Don't give up before the light comes. Hang on! Help is on the way! Sometimes God is an 11th hour God. There are things we need to learn, things He wants to teach us and there may be no other way for us to learn them than for us to trudge though the Valley of the Shadow of Death.
"Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, 'This is the way; walk in it.'" Isaiah 3-:20-21 (NIV)
In the valley, we often learn what is truly important and what is superfluous. It also says, "So think clearly and exercise self-control. Look forward to the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world. So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. For the Scriptures say, 'You must be holy because I am holy.' And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time as 'foreigners in the land.' For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And the ransom he paid was not mere gold or silver. It was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God. God chose him as your ransom long before the world began, but he has now revealed him to you in these last days. Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory. You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart. For you have been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever because it comes from the eternal, living word of God. As the Scriptures say, 'People are like grass; their beauty is like a flower in the field. The grass withers and the flower fades. But the word of the Lord remains forever.' And that word is the Good News that was preached to you." 1 Peter 1:1-15 (NLT)
So if you have decided to follow Jesus, make it a permanent decision, a commitment that you will not go back on. Decide to continue. Decide to dedicate your life to Him. Keep walking forward, away from the darkness and toward the light. "The crowd responded, 'We understood from Scripture that the Messiah would live forever. How can you say the Son of Man will die? Just who is this Son of Man, anyway?' Jesus replied, 'My light will shine for you just a little longer. Walk in the light while you can, so the darkness will not overtake you. Those who walk in the darkness cannot see where they are going. Put your trust in the light while there is still time; then you will become children of the light.'" John 12:34-35 (NLT)
"This, in essence, is the message we heard from Christ and are passing on to you: God is light, pure light; there's not a trace of darkness in him. If we claim that we experience a shared life with him and continue to stumble around in the dark, we're obviously lying through our teeth—we're not living what we claim. But if we walk in the light, God himself being the light, we also experience a shared life with one another, as the sacrificed blood of Jesus, God's Son, purges all our sin." 1 John 1:5-7 (The Message)
"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. John testifies concerning him. He cries out, saying, 'This was he of whom I said, "He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me."' From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another." John 1:14-16 (NIV)
Dear Lord, If we are not already there, please get us to the place where we have seen Your light and beheld Your glory such that we are no longer able to do anything but continue to follow You. Thank you for Your great love which brought the true light into the world. Help us to hear Your voice that says, "This is the way; walk in it!"
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