The Lord's Comfort Through Tribulations
Today's Bible Verse
Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
(Psalm 23: 04)
Tribulations come into our life so unexpectedly while we are so unarmed to face them. Our thoughts struggle to cope, our mindsets are shattered, our dreams for the future fade away, and our journey on the track of life begins to waver. And a lot of times, while we are going through tribulations, we ask, "Is there an end to this suffering anywhere down the line? How will this darkness end?"
One of the important truths that we need to be reminded of in such times is the assured presence of the Lord our God. We have our comforting God walking the difficult time with us, and it is so true that we experience the Lord's comfort during the most difficult and hard times in our lives. It is only after we have come across very difficult times we realise and ask the Lord, "God, how did I make it through? How did I manage? How was it possible? I am sure I wouldn't have done it alone." And yes, then slowly we begin to realise that our Lord our God has been carrying us, walking with us, shielding us from all the pains, sorrow, bereavement, confusions, shocks, inabilities and weaknesses that the sudden situations would have brought in our lives.
Somewhere down the hard path, we begin to realise that the Lord has been helping us to "slip through" those moments while He was taking care of the things on our behalf. We start to see how wonderful the Lord has been in our lives, and we realise the greatness of having the Lord moving with us so powerfully. The learning and the realisations help us to always look forward to having the Lord's nod on everything that we decide and do, and our dependency on the Lord becomes more as each day passes by. As a result of this, there is a growing and intimate relationship that becomes established between our loving God and ourselves. Very personal, highly dependent and more beautiful.
Psalm 23 is a familiar passage to many of us; it is one of the first chapters that many of us would have memorised as children. Knowingly or unknowingly, this psalm has been a travel partner for many of us in this journey of life. According to our ages and the seasons of life, the way this psalm has been received, re-read and understood has been different.
One of the treasures that we find in Psalm 23: 04 is the expression of the truth that 'tribulations take us closer to God.' It is a truth that has been time and again realised and testified by many people around the world. Tribulations do not take a believer far from the Lord; instead, to the surprise of many of us, they bring the believer even closer to the Lord's presence. Even though the journey through tribulations would have been difficult, it would have been absolutely a time when we would have totally depended on God. During times of tribulations, in the absence of things on which we had put our trust and hope, we begin to realise and appreciate that the Lord is our only hope and our ever-present help. This newly-found dependency becomes the cornerstone on which a beautiful and personal relationship with God is built.
In the first three verses of Psalm 23, we find David addressing God as "the Lord," "He," and "His." David says, "The Lord is my shepherd... He makes me lie down in green pastures... He leads me beside quiet waters... He refreshes my soul... He guides me along the right paths for His name’s sake." And then, when he remembers the times of tribulations in his life and when he begins to acknowledge the Lord's comfort, David, in verses 4 and 5, immediately begins to feel so personal in his relationship with God, and he says, "I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me... You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely Your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life." When it was about fear, death and evil, David immediately remembers how the Lord's presence has been sustaining him in such extremely difficult times and becomes drawn towards the love, care and comfort that he has been enjoying in the presence of the Lord that has been moving with him. He begins to express things so personally. David's immediate change in the position of his language from "He" to "You" is a clear reflection that his remembrance of tribulations always reminded him of the renewal and growth of his relationship with God. Each time, the relationship has been growing into something 'very personal, highly dependent and more beautiful.' And this is the comfort we find in the Lord.
Today, if you may be going through a time of tribulation, difficulty, confusion, fears, failures and loss, I want to encourage you to be reminded of the assurance we have in the Lord our God. He is our shepherd, and we, as his sheep, are called to remind each other that our shepherd is there for us. The Lord's presence will surround you and will do this hard walk with you. Even though, sometimes, you may not realise it now, once you have passed through this phase of tribulation, you will get to realise that it was the Lord's presence that was carrying you through, and through this difficult time, the Lord has been comforting you so much that your relationship with Him has become so personal, highly dependent and more beautiful. David realises this and says, "Your rod and your staff, they comfort me." And today, it is the Lord's rod and His staff that will comfort you, guide you and will help you make it through this. Trust in the Lord, and He will comfort you.
May the blessings of God the Father, the love and grace of Christ Jesus the Son, and the fellowship and guidance of the Holy Spirit, be with us as we continue to seek Him in our lives.
May God bless you.
Yours in Christ,
"🎶He Leadeth Me"
by Fountainview Academy
