Take Comfort

 “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.” — Psalms 23:4

Why do we always think this verse is meant for a person at the moment they are dying? Why do we think Psalm 23 is only relevant for an imminently dying person? Consider this, we are all dying each day. Each day we breathe brings us closer to the day we stop breathing. This psalm is not only for the imminently dying. It’s for everyone. 

 

Recognizing that, let’s look at Psalm 23:4. Many of us memorized this verse using the King James Version. We began reciting it like this, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…” In other translations, this verse begins with “though” or “even though.” The beginning of verse four rests upon what David wrote before it. He said, because the Lord is my Shepherd, I will have everything I need because He is almighty, all-loving, kind, and merciful. I have food and drink, rest when needed, rescue from physical danger and eternal separation from Him, release from fear of harm, and guidance each day and with each footfall from Him who is all-wise and all-knowing (Psalm 23:1-3).

 

From this wise, knowing, almighty, kind, merciful, loving, powerful, and rescuing Shepherd, I know I need not ever fear what is happening or what may happen. In verse four, David basically said, “Because of who I personally know my great Shepherd is and because of what I have seen Him do, I fear nothing that is or may come against me—not death or any kind of dastardly development.” The hardest places in life that we live through or could ever think is the worst we could go through, those places of deepest, darkest, extremely dangerous times are when I can know and do know my Shepherd is there and mightier than what is happening.

 

My Shepherd is greater than any storm or suffering. He is mightier than them and is Lord over time and space. Before I even faced this valley of the shadow of death, my Shepherd spanned across time and created the plan of rescue for me. I need not worry because He has already rescued me in the future, so I can trust in Him and His rescue in my now. The Shepherd is with us, behind us, before us, and around us in time and presence, so we need not fear any storm or darkness. How does David say the Shepherd helped him in his extremely dark and dangerous circumstance? His presence kept David from harm. 

 

David spoke more of how the Shepherd protected and guided him. He said the Shepherd’s rod and staff were with Him. The rod that beats off attacks and attackers defends him and defeats the dangerous presence or pandemonium. With the Shepherd’s might, power, wisdom, care, and His unbreakable rod, David knew he was safe. He can beat back whatever may cause physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual harm. Once you are part of the Shepherd’s flock, He will not let you be taken from Him. You are His. Keep you eyes, heart, and mind on the Shepherd, your Savior. Take heart and remain spiritually strong; have faith in your unyielding, ever-protecting Shepherd. 

 

David wrote that this Shepherd carried another tool. He wrote that He carried a staff as He cared for His flock. Why would a Shepherd and Savior need a rod and staff? The rod defends the sheep from an attack. It rescues the sheep in advance. The staff rescues the sheep from precipices and crevices, from blindly walking astray forgetting where safety is and only seeking the next blades of grass or spring of water that appears nearest to it. 

 

Sheep, like people, have tunnel vision. What they see tempts them to walk away from their Shepherd. It may or may not be intentional. Being lured by our eyes to keep walking toward what you think you want often leads you beyond what the Shepherd knows is best. Being lured and decidedly willingly go also often leads a person away from the shepherd. The appetites of our flesh, heart, and mind often are not what’s best for us. These can be due to error, lies, or intentional sin. 

 

This is where the Shepherd’s staff comes in. A staff has a crook at the end to hook around the leg or neck of a sheep to bring it back to Him from a precipice or crevice. The crook was often not a round stick rounded at the end looking like a candy cane. Instead, the rounded hook was flat so the Shepherd could scoop up the sheep to let it lie upon the flat crook end securely. This Shepherd’s staff can remind us of the hands of God. He can round His hands to go around us and pull us back to safety or He can place us in His palms to carry us close to Himself.

 

Psalm 23 isn’t just an end of life or funeral psalm. It speaks about life as we journey with our Savior Shepherd. It reminds us that God never leaves or forsakes us (Deuteronomy 31:6 & 8, 1 Chronicles 28:20, 1 Kings 8:57, and Hebrews 13:5). He is the God of time and all that is. God has already planned the rescue from your storm or temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13). He is your Savior Shepherd. The Shepherd has defeated the enemy. He lovingly scoops you onto His crook and into His palms to carry you back to His pasture of plenty and safety. He lovingly stretches out His staff to catch you from falling off the precipice or through the crevice as you focused solely on the next blade of grass or drop of dew that would satisfy your desire. 

 

Though we walk through dark and dangerous times due to temptation, blindness, and/or evil, we need not fear. The almighty, loving, merciful, all-knowing Savior Shepherd is with you if you are one of His sheep. He will rescue you and take you back to His pasture of plenty and safety. 

 

How can you know if you are a sheep in the Savior Shepherd’s flock? Admit Jesus is God’s Son who died for your sins. Believe in Him to save you from your sins and the judgment of eternal separation from Him. Confess your sins and repent of them. Once you believe, profess, and confess making Jesus Lord of your life and accepting Him as your Savior, He will never leave or forsake you. That is a continual promise from God throughout the Old and New Testaments. It is His covenant of love to all His sheep, His children.

 

Today, if you are saved by Jesus, you can say with David, “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 comfort me.” Nothing can ever separate you from the love of God (Romans 8:38-39). Nothing! You are rescued. You are safe. You are loved eternally. Take comfort; you are God’s.

Gateway to Strength in Suffering

⁴ He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.   ⁵The more we suffer for Christ, the more God will shower us with His comfort through Christ. ⁶ Even when we are weighted down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you.

⁹ But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. ¹⁰ And He did rescue us from mortal danger, and He will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in Him, and He will continue to rescue us. (2 Corinthians 1:4-6, 9b-10 [NLT])

Two gates are available through which you can walk freely.  One gate is partially open, and you can see green grass and flowers, but the sign says no one who has gone through this gate has survived. The second gate is closed. It has a sign on it that says all who go through this gate will live. Your choices cause you to stop and question which gate and road you should use to leave the past. Think on these gates as we study 2 Corinthians 1:1-11 and Romans 10:9-10.

Each of us knows what it feels like to live in troubling times. Some people have experienced religious persecution. Others have lived with insufficient food or a place to live. Still others experienced family and friends mocking them because of believing in a God from the past who seems irrelevant to the current day. Each of these situations are trials. God allowed trials to occur and sometimes ordains them. How we perceive them determines if we grow from them and become stronger believers in God, if we blame God, stop growing in our relationship with Him, or give up on our faith in God altogether. To get through these times, we should recall our time of coming to faith in Jesus Christ as well as recall the life of Paul and other faithful Christians throughout history who remained faithful to God despite trials. Suffering for Christ is what Paul speaks of in 2 Corinthians 1:3-11. His second letter to the Corinthians will help us grow in our faith like it did for the Corinthian church during the first century.

Paul wrote this sometimes-puzzling statement to the Corinthians in his second letter to them. The Corinthian believers had struggled through divisions and quarrels among themselves and were more unified by the time Paul wrote this letter. This second letter to the Corinthians tells us more of Paul’s life and of God’s plan for His people to help others. Paul explained his calling by Jesus to apostleship because some people considered his meekness as weakness. He wrote to help them understand he was just as important a disciple of Christ as the other disciples. Paul emphasized this point in the second letter so they would not disregard what he taught them about Jesus and living as Christians. In Paul’s clarifying his calling to the Corinthians, he told of his suffering for the cause of Christ so all people would know about the salvation Jesus gives to those who believe in and profess Him as Lord and Savior. As Paul wrote in this letter, he suffered often to share the gospel. Paul stated all who believe in Jesus and seek to live out their faith in word and deed would share in Christ’s sufferings. He taught we experience suffering for our faith for several reasons: 1. To grow our faith in and trust of God, 2. To show others our faith in God so they would believe, and 3. To teach us more about God through suffering so we can offer strength and consolation to others who also suffer for Christ. Let’s understand what Paul meant and how it relates to our salvation.

In Romans 10:9-13, Paul said

If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. It is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. As the Scriptures tell us, “Anyone who trusts in Him will never disgraced. Jew and Gentile are the same in this respect. They have the same Lord, who gives generously to all who call on Him. For everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.” (NLT)

To receive salvation, we must believe in our heart that Jesus is Lord and declare our faith with our lips. The action of being saved, spoken of here, comes from the Greek word sozo, which also means to be healed, preserved, and rescued. Paul specifically meant in Romans 10 to be saved from eternal death and separation from God because of our sins. In earlier parts of this passage, Paul stated Moses wrote about a righteousness that comes from the law if the Israelites had lived according to God’s laws. Yet, the laws only served to prove humanity’s unrighteousness because they are sinful. People cannot make themselves righteous. Only God’s power and mercy can make people righteous. (Romans 9). So, God made a way for people to be made just or right with Him. He sent His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross for the penalty of each person’s sins, so they would be made right with Him. People only must believe in their hearts and confess with their mouths Jesus is Lord to be saved.

To take this to 2 Corinthians 1 then, how does this correlate? Consider what Paul said in verse 9-10. He said, “We expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. And He did rescue us from mortal danger and will rescue us again.” (NLT) Paul used the word “rescue” in 2 Corinthians 1 like he used the word “save” in Romans 10. God is the only One who can rescue us from sin, trials, temptations, and persecutions. As we are to testify of God’s rescuing us from sin and death by belief in Jesus with our words and actions, so we are to testify of God’s rescuing us from trials, temptations, and persecutions. Paul’s testimony in 2 Corinthians 1 stated he stopped relying on himself because he had no power to end his suffering. When he realized he was powerless, he said he relied on God who raises the dead. Just as Jesus rose from the dead, Paul stated God could rescue him from danger. Paul gave a verbal testimony to God’s saving him while on earth.

Consider Romans 10 and 2 Corinthians 1 further. Paul told the Romans to do more than trust in a God. He told them to believe in God’s Son for their salvation. This heart action of belief leads to physical action. Believers in Jesus are to profess with their mouths that Jesus is Lord-your Master and the One who rules your life. A Lord tells you where to go, what to do, and what to say. Christians are people who believe Jesus is the Son of God who died for our sins and the One whom God resurrected from the dead. They are to confess with their mouths out loud, so all people hear He is the Lord. With 2 Corinthians 1, Paul taught followers of Jesus are to live their lives obeying Him. Being a child of God requires heart and head belief that leads to professing that belief and living out one’s faith. His reliance on God to rescue him from trials and persecution gave him a physical, lived-out testimony of his faith in God to save him.

What are some reasons we are to act out our belief in Jesus Christ? Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 1? He said in verses six through seven,

 When we are weighed down with troubles, it is for your comfort and salvation! For when we ourselves are comforted, we will certainly comfort you. Then you can patiently endure the same things we suffer. We are confident that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in the comfort God gives us. (NLT)

We act out our belief in Jesus so others will praise God with us. (vs. 11) We act our belief, too, so other people will grow because they saw how God intervened in our lives and how we grew through it.  By acting out our belief in Jesus, people will receive comfort at God’s intervention when they face trials; they will remember God’s faithfulness and stand firm in their own faith. Besides these reasons, living out our faith will give a testimony to unbelievers about Jesus so they might give their lives to Him, too. In essence, God allows trials to grow and comfort us, and, as a domino effect, comfort and strengthen others when they go through them. Additionally, trials could lead people to Christ. Proclaiming God’s provision, saving, comforting, guiding, etc. must occur. One cannot experience these things, recognize God did them, and not proclaim about God. It’s like the Jewish understanding of “to hear”. Once you hear something, it requires an action-to act or not to act. Once God works in our lives, we are impelled to tell what He did.

One other point we must remember; God gives promises to us by which we can stand firm in our faith. We can gain strength as we remember God’s promises to His children and remember how He has helped His children in the past. The hope given because of these verses helps us to stand strong when we face trials. The verses below are a brief list of some of God’s promises.

Exodus 14:14 “The Lord Himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.”

Deuteronomy 31:6 & Hebrews 13:5 “So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the LORD your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.”

Isaiah 40:29 “He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless.”

Isaiah 40:31 “But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles.”

Isaiah 41:10 “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.”

Isaiah 41:13 “For I hold you by your right hand-I, the LORD your God. And, I say to you, don’t be afraid. I am here to help you.”

Isaiah 43:2 “When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppressions, you will not be burned up; the flames will not consume you.”

Isaiah 54:17 “But in that coming day, no weapon turned again you will succeed. You will silence every voice raised up to accuse you. These benefits are enjoyed by the servants of the LORD; their vindication will come from me. I, the LORD, have spoken!”

Matthew 11:28-30 “Then Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.’”

John 16:33 “I (Jesus) have told you all this so that you may have peace in Me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”

Romans 8:17 “And since we are His children, we are heirs. In fact, together with Christ, we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share His glory, we must also share His suffering.

Romans 8:35 & 37 “Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean He no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?” ^{37 “}No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.”

1 Corinthians 10:13 “The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptations to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure.”

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 “All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.”

Philippians 4:19 “And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from His glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.”

1 Peter 5:10 “In His kindness, God called you to share in His eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So, after you have suffered a little while, He will restore, support, and strengthen you, and He will place you on a firm foundation.”

So, what’s the point here? Obviously, the point is we will go through trials to grow us. More still, we will go through trials so other people can hear about and understand how we went through them with God’s leading, comforting, and providing a way and, thereby, grow and receive comfort themselves. Added to this, our trials serve to lead other people to Christ. As we go through these trials, we can know we are not alone, but God is with us. He promises He is with us and will give us the strength needed to get through that time.

At the start of this article, we read about two gates. Now you’ve had time to consider, which gate will you choose to open and enter? Will you open the gate that appears to promise green fields and beautiful flowers, but without assurance of life? Or, will you choose the second gate not knowing exactly where it will lead, but knowing you will live? You now realize God leads the person who enters the second gate and He will protect, provide, and guide that person. Which gate will you choose-assurance of life or seeming beauty in life?

Some people wonder why Christians would choose to follow Jesus because He seems to take the fun away from life by not allowing you to drink, do drugs, gamble, or live your life any way you want. Other people see Christians who professed faith in Jesus, but the activities of their lives haven’t changed. They wonder why they would want to become a Christian if they see no difference between that “Christians” life and their own life. Besides these, people look at obedient Jesus-following Christians who willingly change careers, move to other countries, and/or refuse to keep living their old way. They question why these Christians willingly give up good jobs, family, and fun lives just to follow a person they cannot see. These people, all people, need to see and hear our professions of faith put into action. They need to hear not just our conversion testimony, but our testimonies of how God led us through hard times, comforted us, and grew us. These watchers need to see and understand why you chose Jesus, continue to follow Him, and the results of that. Some people will never trust in Jesus. Yet, other people will after having seen the comfort, guidance, and protection God gives His children. At this point, these people will give their lives to Jesus. They will join others over generations who “give thanks because God has graciously answered so many prayers for our safety,” provision, guidance, encouragement, and growth. (2 Corinthians 1:11 [NLT]) Then these people will come to know God and grow in Him because of our faith in, professing about and obedience to God.

With God, we are assured of life.

Without God, what we see won’t be what we get.

Everybody gets to decide whether they will believe in Jesus, profess He is the Son of God, and obey Him. God loves us and gives us free will. Today, if you are not a professing Christian, you get to choose which gate you will open, the one with green fields and beautiful flowers, but no guidance or assurance, or the one with assurances Almighty God will lead, protect, provide, and comfort. If you have professed faith in Jesus Christ for salvation, but that was the last thing you did in your Christian walk, today God asks you to walk with Him, obey Him, and grow with Him. You will be rewarded in yourself and other people will receive comfort, praise God, and/or come to know Jesus as their Savior, too.

Jesus has overcome the world, so you don’t need to be afraid to live out your testimony. (John 16:33 [NLT])

No matter what we go through on earth, God will glorify His children by faith with Jesus in heaven because we are co-heirs with Him. (Romans 8:17)

In fact, we expected to die. But as a result, we stopped relying on ourselves and learned to rely only on God, who raises the dead. (2 Corinthians 1:9 [NLT])

As for me, I choose to rely God who raises the dead.

Who will you choose to walk with through life’s easy and hard times?

Lord, you know me. I get caught up in whatever I am doing, fighting the fight and struggling, then I forget You are there for me. I struggle hard and only when I come to the last of my strength do I remember You are waiting for me to let you fight the battle with me. You are my strength. You are might rock. You said to share the yoke with You, and I forgot. Please forgive me for trying to live in my own strength. Forgive me for forgetting I don’t have to fight my battles alone. Forgive me for forgetting You. You are almighty, gracious, faithful, and loving. Nothing can defeat You. Please help me remember when I get caught up in my life You are always there for me. Thank you for loving me when I forget You or sin against You. Thank you for having a plan for me. In whom will I fear? No one, God. You are greatest of all. Amen.

Hope and Victory

For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world-our faith. (1 John 5:4 [ESV])

We, as Christians, have comfort after the death of a Christian friend and relative. This comfort comes only by Jesus’ death and resurrection and by His teaching about what will be after we die. For people who are not Christians, they will have no hope or comfort during their illness or on their deathbed because they have never believed Jesus is the Son of God. They have no hope or victory over death. Death for non-Christians is eternal separation from God. What hope is there to give to the loved ones left behind after a non-Christians death? There is only one hope for these loved ones; they can have hope for themselves of life beyond death with God in His kingdom if they believe Jesus is the Son of God. As much as we grieve the loss of a person who didn’t believe in Jesus, we still have hope to offer the ones left alive. Jesus is the only comfort and consolation for grieving people, just as He is the Comfort and Hope-giver for His disciples.

Today, tens of thousands of people around the world die from COVID-19. Thousands of them died without knowing Jesus as the Son of God. We remain behind to offer comfort to their friends and loved ones. The comfort we can give them comes because of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.

When Jesus saw her (Mary) weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and greatly troubled. And He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. So, the Jews said, “See how He loved him!” (John 11:33-36 [ESV])

Remember, Jesus cried at Lazarus’ grave. He didn’t cry because He had no hope. He cried because of His empathy with His friends’, Mary and Martha’s, grief. Jesus waited until Lazarus was dead to show He has power over death. He waited until Lazarus was dead to give glory to the Father. Jesus knew Mary, Martha, and Lazarus believed He is the Son of God, but other people around them did not believe. He provided comfort to them by showing He is the Son of God who has power over death when He brought Lazarus back to life. Jesus provided comfort to the believers and the unbelievers. He gave hope, showed love, grew the faith of the people who saw or heard about this happening, and gave God the glory. Did more people believe Jesus is the Son of God because of Lazarus’ resurrection? We don’t know for sure, but we can know they probably thought about it. I believe some could no longer doubt Jesus being the Son of God and came to believe in Him for salvation. Did the believers who watched Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead gain a deeper faith in Him because of this resurrection miracle? Most definitely.

Think of two people you know who have lost a loved one recently. Consider their relationship with God. Consider the dead person’s relationship with Jesus. What comfort can you offer the person left behind? Find out about their relationship with Jesus. Do they believe in Him? Offer the lasting hope and peace found only through Jesus. Tell them about Him so He will comfort them. Tell them about Him so they will believe in Him and receive salvation and eternal life with God. Their belief in Jesus will give them hope, peace, and comfort. Jesus’ Spirit will live in them to remind them of these and to grow them to be like Jesus.

Do you love people enough to tell them about Jesus?

Or do you hate people so much you won’t tell them about Jesus and

withhold from them comfort, peace, hope, and victory?

Tell people about Jesus. Allow them to receive salvation from their sins and have perfect peace and victory over death.

Then Jesus told them (His disciples) plainly, “Lazarus has died, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” (John 11:14-15 [ESV])

Jesus said to her (Martha), “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me, though he dies, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26 [ESV])

Lord, God, I have become blind to other people and their problems or grief during this time of social distancing and lockdown. It’s easy not to see the grief of other people when the government leaders will not allow us to be together. I cannot use that excuse. Forgive me for using that excuse. Forgive me for getting wrapped up in myself and protecting my family. I should focus more on You and Your will than on my safety and health. Please Lord, tell me how to stay socially connected. Show me to whom You want me to talk, offer comfort, and tell about You. Put Your mind and heart into me so I know to whom to talk and what to say to comfort them. Help me listen as they grieve or fear for their lives. Help me stay focused on You and speak Your words of consolation and comfort. Help me not fear testifying about You, our Savior and Victor. Lord, I am just a small cog in the universe, but You can use me for Your purposes. I give my life to You. Make me hear Your voice and talk to people as You direct. Amen.