Galatians 1:3-5

"Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen."

Through the Valley - Greg Laurie

“Yea, 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.”

Psalm 23:4

Have you ever gone through a spiritual valley in your life? Perhaps it was a time when unexpected circumstances suddenly came crashing down on you. Perhaps it was a time when it seemed as though even God himself had abandoned you.

In Psalm 23, David speaks of how God is with us, even when we go through valleys in our lives: “Yea, 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” (verse 4 nkjv).

David was no stranger to calamity and hardship. This was a man who knew what it was like to suffer. He knew what it was like to face difficulties. He had been hunted like a wild animal by the paranoid King Saul, even after being anointed as the next king of Israel by the prophet Samuel.

When David brings us this and other psalms, which he penned under the direction of the Holy Spirit, he candidly speaks of his own shortcomings, weaknesses, and questions he faced in life. Psalm 23 came from the school of hard knocks, from a man who knew what it was like to need God’s help.

But we might say, “A valley? I don’t like valleys, Lord. I prefer mountaintops, okay? I like the sun to be shining and the birds singing. I like good times. I don’t want friction. I don’t want hardship.”

Yet the Lord is saying, “You see that mountaintop in the distance? The way to that mountaintop is through this valley. You come with Me now through the valley.”

We all go through those valleys in life, those hard times. Whatever valley it is, remember this: You are not alone. That is God’s great promise to the believer.

Greg Laurie

COVID-19 Crisis Prayer - Pastor Mike

Today's Prayer
Psalm 67

Today’s Subject: How Long, O Lord? 

In Psalm 13, David cries out to the Lord in his crisis and asks “How Long, O Lord?”.   In this short Psalm he moves from a sense of rejection to a reality of rejoicing.  It is a good pattern for those who are feeling rejection in our current crisis.   

Pray for those who are feeling forgotten by the Lord.  He has not forgotten us.  He will never leave us or forsake us.  Pray for those who feel the Lord has hidden His face from them.  His face is ever shining upon us as His own.  Pray that we would not take our own counsel in despair.  God is ever speaking to us by His Word and through His Holy Spirit.  Pray our current sorrow be turned to joy and our hearts to rejoicing. 

Pray that our enemies would be discomfited in their plans and in their ways. 

Pray the enemy of the Lord would be brought down and his evil intentions exposed.  Pray that we would commit our enemies to the hands of the Lord and not take our own counsel against them.  Pray that we would ask the Lord again to consider our situation and hear us in our struggle.  Pray that our eyes and understanding would be enlightened by the Holy Spirit and we would not quench the Spirit in our lives and hearts. 

Pray that we would trust in the mercy of the Lord.  Pray that in trusting in the mercy of the Lord, our hearts will rejoice in His salvation provided to us through Jesus Christ.  Pray that we would continually praise the Lord and sing to Him daily.  Praise Him for He has dealt bountifully with us! 

“God be merciful to us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us, that Your Way may be known on earth, Your Salvation among the nations.  Let the peoples praise You, O God; Let all the peoples praise You” Psalm 67: 1-3