Picnics - One Year Devotions for Women

Even when I walk through the dark valley of death, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. - Psalm 23:4

The Great Shepherd supports the sheep when they are frightened, but he knows the greenest grass is found in the valleys. Do you believe that? What dark valley are you traveling through just now?

Not long ago, my husband went away on business for five weeks. All the children are grown now, so I was alone. This time, because the dog had died a few years earlier, there was not another living, breathing soul in the house with me! I am not usually nervous, but I found myself wondering why I had never before noticed the veritable symphony of creaks and groans in the timbers of the house! It may seem a small valley to you, but it became a very big one for me.

I began to devise ways of staying out as late as I could after work, rather than coming home to face that empty house. One day, when I had had enough of my churning stomach, I simply put my hand in my shepherd’s and said, “Help me walk through this valley with you.”

“Stop running,” he replied. “You have been sprinting along, intent on getting out of this situation as quickly as you can! Walk slowly and take a long look around. See, here is some green, green grass.”

Verse after verse of Scripture flooded my mind, bringing peace, and calm, and a sensible acceptance of the situation. I ate my fill and was satisfied. Yes, the greenest grass is always found in the valleys.

For Further Study: Psalm 23:1-6

Excerpted from The One Year Devotions for Women, Copyright ©2000 by Jill Briscoe. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

For more from Jill Briscoe, please visit TellingtheTruth.org.

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