“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil...” (Psalm 23:4)

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4 KJV)

I was meditating on the 23 Psalm one morning when the Lord began to show me a picture of a shadow puppet making all kinds of scary images on the wall. If I had not known the images were not real they could have been frightening.

The Lord told me these “shadows that looked like death” are being made by the devil making shadows to frighten us. The shadows can not harm us. Not only that, the 23 Psalm reveals to us that when we are walking with Christ, He protects us.

In John 14:16 Jesus designated the Holy Spirit to be our Parakletos, the One who will come along side of us. He is the One who pleads our cause before God. 

Just as Jesus became Emmanuel as He walked on the earth, His Spirit is Emmanuel, God with us that God sent at Pentecost and is forever with us

It is a good idea to get to know the Lord Jesus in the good times so that you know how to listen to Him during the dark times. He would like to talk with you each day.

Yield yourself to the Lord Jesus each and every day through prayer, listening for His still small voice and Bible study. Invite Him to come along side of you and guide every step.

If you are not used to listening for His leading you might need to calm your spirit and open your ears to hear His voice. Jesus tells us that His sheep know His voice and will follow no other. (John 10:27)

In Revelation 3:20 Jesus tells us, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hears My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.”

Jesus desires to fellowship with each of us daily. According to Revelation 3:20, we must open the door.

If this is the desire of your heart, I invite you to pray this prayer with me.

Dear Lord Jesus,

I invite You to come into my life and become the Lord of my life. I yield my spirit, soul and body to You to guide and direct me in the way I should go.

I open my ears to hear what the Spirit says and I commit myself to following the leadership of Your Spirit within me.

Thank You Jesus for answering my prayer. Amen!

Blessings on your day!

Karen

Jesus calmed the storm (Matthew 8:23-27)

Have you ever noticed storms never bothered Jesus?

(Matthew 8:23-26 AMP) “When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. And suddenly a violent storm arose on the sea, so that the boat was being covered by the waves; but Jesus was sleeping. And the disciples went and woke Him, saying, “Lord, save us, we are going to die!” He said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?”

Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was [at once] a great and wonderful calm [a perfect peacefulness]. The men wondered in amazement, saying, “What kind of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?”

Then another time (Matthew 14: 22-27 AMP):“Immediately He (Jesus) directed the disciples to get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side [of the Sea of Galilee], while He sent the crowds away.  After He had dismissed the crowds, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. When it was evening, He was there alone.  But the boat [by this time] was already a long distance from land, tossed and battered by the waves; for the wind was against them.  And in the fourth watch of the night (3:00-6:00 a.m.) Jesus came to them, walking on the sea.”

Jesus is never surprised or intimidated about our storms. He just spoke to storms and walked on them.

However; we do seem to allow them to bother us. Let’s continue with Matthew 14: 27-33. When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. But immediately He spoke to them, saying, “Take courage, it is I! Do not be afraid!”

Peter replied to Him, “Lord, if it is [really] You, command me to come to You on the water.” 

He said, “Come!” So Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus.  But when he saw [the effects of] the wind, he was frightened, and he began to sink, and he cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Immediately Jesus extended His hand and caught him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” 

And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.  Then those in the boat worshiped Him [with awe-inspired reverence], saying, “Truly, You are the Son of God!”

We all go through storms. The question is; when the storms come, where is our focus? As long as Peter kept his focus on Jesus he remained safe. The moment Peter looked at the storm he began to sink.

I found a key change over the Christmas holidays for Proverbs 3:5-6 (AMP) which says, “Trust in and rely confidently on the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight or understanding. In all your ways know and acknowledge and recognize Him, And He will make your paths straight and smooth [removing obstacles that block your way].”

Learning to trust Jesus in our storms can be difficult because we continually focus on the storm, the verdict, the diagnosis, another person causing the problem, etc. I want to encourage you to keep your focus on Jesus, not your situation. Call out to Him as Peter did. Hear Him say, "Come!" Then trust Him to take your hand and walk with you through the storm.

He loves you and He is trustworthy.

It is a good idea to seek Him before you run into storms. Then your relationship of trust will have begun growing and you will know where to turn.  Otherwise it’s like trying to catch the boat in the middle of the storm not knowing where to look.

Blessings on your day!

Karen