Psalm 23 - Week 3

VALLEYS

•“The pearl of psalms whose soft and pure radiance delights every eye...it may be affirmed that its piety and its poetry are equal, its sweetness and its spirituality are unsurpassed” - Charles Spurgeon
•Psalm 23:1-6
The Lord is my shepherd; I have what I need. He lets me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside quiet waters. He renews my life; he leads me along the right paths for his name’s sake.

Even when I go through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for you are with me; your rod and your staff—they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Only goodness and faithful love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord as long as I live.
•Psalm 23:4
Even when I go through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for you are with me; your rod and your staff—they comfort me.
1.RECOGNIZE DARK VALLEY’S
-Dark Valley’s are not Optional
•“Even When I go”
•Dark Valley of being Forgotten

Psalm 13:1-2
How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long will I store up anxious concerns within me, agony in my mind every day? How long will my enemy dominate me
•Dark Valley of Abandonment

Psalm 22:1-2
My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? Why are you so far from my deliverance and from my words of groaning My God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, by night, yet I have no rest.
•Dark Valley of Depression

Psalm 42:5-6
Why, my soul, are you so dejected? Why are you in such turmoil? Put your hope in God, for I will still praise him, my Savior and my God. I am deeply depressed…
•Dark Valley of Failure & Guilt

Psalm 32:2-3
Wash me clean from my guilt. Purify me from my sin. For I recognize my rebellion; it haunts me day and night.
•Dark Valley of Betrayal

Psalm 41:9
Even my best friend, the one I trusted completely, the one who shared my food, has turned against me.
•Dark Valley of Sickness

Psalm 38:6-8,10-11
I am bent over and racked with pain. All day long I walk around filled with grief. A raging fever burns within me, and my health is broken. I am exhausted and completely crushed. My groans come from an anguished heart…
My heart beats wildly, my strength fails, and I am going blind. My loved ones and friends stay away, fearing my disease. Even my own family stands at a distance (NLT)
•Dark Valley of Fear

Psalm 55:4-5
My heart shudders within me; terrors of death sweep over me. Fear and trembling grip me; horror has overwhelmed me
•Dark Valley of Hatred from Others
•Psalm 69:3-5
I am weary from my crying; my throat is parched. My eyes fail, looking for my God. Those who hate me without cause are more numerous than the hairs of my head; my deceitful enemies, who would destroy me.
•Dark Valley Loosing a Loved One

2 Samuel 12:18
On the seventh day the baby died.
•Dark Valley of Family Dysfunction
•We Live in a Broken World

Romans 5:12
When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. (NLT)

> We Have a Real Enemy

Ephesians 6:11
Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this darkness, against evil, spiritual forces in the heavens.

> Sometimes Because of own Choices

Psalm 51:4
Against you—you alone—I have sinned and done this evil in your sight.
-Dark Valley’s are Temporary
“Even when I go through”

Psalm 27:13
I am certain that I will see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.
2.REFUSE TO BE DISCOURAGED

Psalm 23:4
“I will fear no evil”
3.REMEMBER YOUR SHEPHERD IS PRESENT

“For You are with me.”

Psalm 23:2-3
He lets me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside quiet waters. He renews my life; he leads me along the right paths for his name’s sake.

Psalm 23:4-5
“You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil.”

In the dark valleys we don’t want to talk about God, we want to talk to God.

Hebrews 13:5
I will never leave you or abandon you
4.RELY ON YOUR SHEPHERDS PROTECTION AND GUIDANCE

“your rod and your staff—they comfort me.”

Psalm 91:14
Because he has his heart set on me, I will deliver him; I will protect him because he knows my name

Mark6:34
When he went ashore, he saw a large crowd and had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd