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. Psalms 23:4 NIV
Before I claim a promise, I must be sure I am aligned with the premise and the preconditions for the promise. God does not do magic; he has principles that define his policies and practices. If I will then lay hold of his promises, I have to find out what his principles are, his prescribed practices and how to align myself with them. I can shout from now till next year "I receive", but when there is no alignment with God's Word, there is really nothing to get. My first and foremost priority then is to find out what God's perfect will is. That is the secret of access.
David understood this principle, as he made very clear in the first line of the psalm: The Lord is my shepherd. That is a fact that underlines the rest of the psalm. Every other thing David mentioned in this psalm rested on this fact. The fact that God was his shepherd did not insure his life from trials, tribulations and dark times, but in spite of the darkness, the presence of the shepherd was enough comfort for David. As I face life's challenges and all the dark times that will surely come, the only way I will survive is if the Lord is my shepherd. I must not dare face the world, if I have not first faced God and be assured of his power and presence in and with me.
There are no earthly theories or concepts that can provide the right answers to life's questions. Fear is the natural consequence of all that the world offers. The world has no free gifts, and it cannot guarantee that which it did not create. The world has only trouble, yet it lays claim to having answers to the problems it creates. The world cannot explain the power behind the Presence of God. Those of us who have it sometimes cannot fully explain it to the world, but the world cannot doubt the presence of God in us and what it is able to achieve in our lives.
God's Presence carries power. God's presence is more important than all the presents the world can give you. The world will give you gifts, yet cannot supply you with the peace you need to enjoy the gifts. God's presence will supply you with peace, comfort, discipline, guidance and protection you need to enjoy all that God gives. This is the extreme: even if death comes, it does not take away the peace of God in you. Peace of God is not affected or limited by what the world does. I must check again, and be sure that what I hold on to is the stuff God provides, not what the world prescribes. I will only survive if God is my shepherd. I can look forward to all the world will give if God is my shepherd. Nothing else will work. God's time of favour is here.
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