WALKING THROUGH THE VALLEY

I Was Just Thinking About - - - 

For several months, a story that has been repeated often indicates: “After being issued an ultimatum from ISIS in Mosul, some of the city’s last Christian families have fled, only to be robbed of their last possessions at ISIS checkpoints. Friday at noon was the deadline for Christian families to meet ISIS’s demands: Convert to Islam, pay an anachronistic Islamic tax for non-Muslims or be killed. But the day before the final exodus, Christians were informed…the order came to convert, leave, or die” (The Daily Beast, July 22nd, 2014). Just this past week people were suddenly displaced from their homes with no time to take even a change of clothes. People flee from place to place and many are captured, tortured and killed.

My thoughts shift to conditions that are evolving within our own nation. What if our liberties were suddenly terminated and freedoms were denied? What would we do? What if we were suddenly ordered from our homes, what would we attempt to take with us? We can be dismissive of this notion but the point of the questions are to measure one’s priorities and what is of greatest value if a choice had to be suddenly made. I ponder this with the words spoken by Jesus Christ regarding prevailing conditions prior to His coming again. Note the scope of what He indicated in Matthew 24:15-22 (ESV), “So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. Let the one who is on the housetop not go down to take what is in his house, and let the one who is in the field not turn back to take his cloak. And alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a Sabbath. For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be. And if those days had not been cut short, no human being would be saved. But for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.” Regardless of how one chooses to interpret these words of Jesus, the truth that should be noted is that in the midst of adversity there is the assurance that “for the sake of the elect those days will be cut short.”

Another thought is that Psalm 23 seems to indicate the Psalmist felt alone when walking through the valley of the shadow of death. Consider that possibility with an article posted yesterday: “Evangelicals have become largest Christian group” Tuesday, 06/30/2015 (OneNewsNow.com). The article states:  “While a recent survey showed that Christianity is on the decline in America, a longtime Christian leader says there's some very encouraging data about evangelicals.  Despite negative numbers in the Pew Research study published in May, Dr. Richard Land, president of Southern Evangelical Seminary in North Carolina, points out there are some positive takeaways. He notes that while the number of evangelicals didn't grow as fast as the population from 2007 to 2014, it did show growth. The evangelical community grew from 59 million to 62 million and is now the largest segment of the Christian faith in America, 55 % of all people who identify themselves as Christians in America identify themselves as evangelical Christians.” How many of these will be present walking through the valley.

Jesus said, Matthew 24:10-11, “Many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray.” We should note and remember that David believed and wrote in Psalm 23:4, “Even though I walk THROUGH the valley of the shadow of death that he did not need to fear any evil because he was not alone in that valley - The Lord was with him! Is that your ongoing confidence today? Whatever your situation or circumstance may be, you are confident that The Lord is with YOU and you do not need to be afraid of the unknowns as long as you continually walk with Him? I need that truth for myself and I pray it is reassuring for you in your journey of faith. Consider these things with me.