When you walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will be with you.

Psalm 23:4 New International Version (NIV)

4 Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,[a]
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

Today's promise is a much loved verse from the often quoted Psalm 23. Most times, we might quote this verse at a funeral service or at another time of extreme loss and of course this verse is fitting for those occasions. At the end of our lives, it is comforting to know that God will never ever leave us.

However, I do want to ask you to think of another application of this promise... Jesus told us that except a seed falls in the ground and dies, it abides alone (John 12:24). The principle of the Christian life is a continual letting go of things, allowing them to 'die', only to see them resurrected again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Whether those things are dreams or desires, the principle of the cross (death, burial, resurrection) is a resounding theme in the daily Christian life.

In that context, when you are feeling like God is asking you to surrender something dear to you, when you are in a sense walking through the shadow of death for something that you have hoped for, be comforted in knowing that God is very close to you in those times of surrender and His staff and rod will bring comfort to you. Weeping may endure for the night, but joy is coming in the morning! (Psalm 30:5)