Pastor Rick's Daily Hope

Pastor Rick Warren: Hello everybody. This is Pastor Rick's Daily Hope with Rick Warren. I'm really glad you're here. Today we're continuing our series from Psalm 23 called, Living in the Goodness of God. It's all about how God's goodness meets you right where you are and brings hope even in difficult seasons. In today's message, you'll hear the final part of a message called, The God of My Valleys.

Guest (Male): Even when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. Friends, sooner or later this shadow is going to cross your path. If it hasn't already, that shadow of death is going to cross your life.

I've lost a mom, a dad, a brother, and a son. As a pastor, I've lost a lot of friends. And I've stood at more bedsides in their final moments than you would ever want to stand at. I have seen the valley of the shadow of death probably more than anybody in this room unless you're a nurse. But it's going to fall across your life at some time. That shadow is going to fall across your life.

Do you know what I've learned in watching that so many times? I've learned that shadows are often larger than the real thing. Have you ever seen a shadow of a truck that was bigger than a truck? Yeah. Shadows are often bigger than the real thing.

The other thing I've learned is that shadows can't hurt you. Have you ever been run over by a shadow of a truck? How did you handle that? It is not like a truck. Is there a difference between being run over by a truck and being run over by the shadow of a truck? Yes.

And so it is your fear of death because you're not ready to meet God. It is your fear of the shadow of death that haunts you. Fear is always greater. It's an image without substance. That's what a shadow is. But here's the most important thing I've learned about shadows. There cannot be a shadow without a light.

The shadows in your life are the evidence of the presence of light in your life. If there was no shadow in your life, there would be no light. Because there is no light, there is no shadow. Shadows imply the presence of light. God is with me. God is with me.

And the way you deal with shadows of death or the shadows of despair or the shadow of depression or the shadow or the fear that you're losing your mind or the shadow that you're going to die alone—you name your fear. How do you deal with the shadow? Here's how you do it. You turn your back to the shadow and you look at the light. And all of a sudden you don't see the shadow anymore.

Every time you get afraid, you need to look at the light. Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. He who believes in me shall not walk in darkness. He who believes in me will not stumble in darkness. I am the light of the world." The first thing God said when he created the universe, "Let there be light." The Bible says God is light and in him is no darkness at all.

When you are scared by the shadows in your life, you just need to turn around and look at the light. Stop focusing on the stuff that's scaring you to death—those bills, those fears, those worries, that stuff that goes around in your mind—and just get your focus off your fear and get your focus on the Father. You look at the light and the shadow can't hurt you. In fact you don't even see it.

And when you're going through a tunnel, how do you make it through a tunnel? You keep your eyes on the light at the end and you just keep going. Remember that God is with me. Shadows can frighten you but they can't harm you. Look at this verse on the screen in Job 12:22. God uncovers deep things out of darkness. God uncovers deep things out of darkness and he brings into light even black gloom and the shadow of death.

I've told you many times since Matthew died, I learned stuff in his death that I would never have learned any other way. Spending hours and hours alone with God for 122 days after my son died. There is stuff I learned in the valley of the shadow of death I would have not learned any other way. God uncovers deep things out of darkness. And God says just remember you're not going through this by yourself. You may not be able to see me, but I'm there. And if you see a shadow, guess what? Its presence shows there is light.

Isaiah 43 verse two. When you go through deep waters and great trouble, I will be with you. And when you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. And when you walk through the fires of oppression, you will not burn up. The flames will not consume you.

I don't know what valley you're going through, but the antidote is Psalm 73:28. As for me, God's presence is all I need. I have made the sovereign Lord my shelter. And if God is the sovereign Lord of your life, he is your shelter. I don't need anything else. As for me, God's presence is all I need.

Remember I'm not alone. Number two. Second thing you need to remember when you're in a struggle and in a valley. Remember that God has a good purpose for my valley. Remember that God has a good purpose for my valley. Remember this whole chapter, this whole Psalm is on the goodness of God.

God is a good God. God cannot do evil. It is impossible for God to do evil. God can only do good in your life. God has good plans for your life. And so I remember that even in the problems I'm going through, the valleys I'm going through—the valley of conflict or grief or fear or failure or whatever—God has a good purpose for my valley.

Romans five, verse three and top five. We can even rejoice in our suffering, knowing that suffering produces endurance. And endurance produces character. And character produces hope. And that kind of hope does not disappoint us. There are a lot of kinds of hope in the world that are false hope. This kind of hope does not disappoint us because God has poured his love into our hearts. God is building character when you're going through that valley. And that character is going to outlast everything else.

Steven Curtis Chapman has just written a new book and it's called, Between Heaven and the Real World. And he discusses all the valleys he's been through, including the loss of a child. We're in a club that nobody wants to be a part of. And he says this in an interview, Jesus tells us in this world you will have trouble. It is fact. But then he says take heart because I've overcome the world. He's saying that there's another story being told that we don't always see.

And frankly, Steven says, if I didn't believe that, I'd be an extremely bitter and angry man. My little girl's death underlined and solidified what I knew and believed, but it made it more real. And when there was nothing else to hold onto, I heard myself say, "God, I'm going to trust you and worship you." And it's not because there's an audience watching. I'm going to bless your name whether you give or take away.

Previously to—you know, his daughter died from a freak accident. Previously I'd gone 50 feet below sea level and I thought it was dark down there. But I also learned that God was with me. But now I was pushed 100,000 feet below sea level where it was darker than I could ever imagine. And I found the same thing was true down there as well.

I remember I'm not alone and I remember that God has a good purpose for my valley. Hosea 2:15 says this—I love this in the New Living Translation—I will transform the valley of trouble into a gateway of hope. Oh, some of you need that verse. The valley of trouble actually is a valley, it's the valley of Achor. I didn't have time to cover it. It's covered both twice in Joshua and it's covered in Hosea. And you're going to go through the valley of Achor too, the valley of trouble. And God says I will turn the valley of trouble into a gateway of hope, a doorway to hope. One translation says I'm going to turn trouble valley into hopeful valley.

Colossians 1:11 says this. God will strengthen you with his own great power so that you will not give up when troubles come, but you will be patient. He's not just going to give you his presence, he's going to give you his power. So I remember. I remember that I'm not alone and I remember that God has a good purpose for the valley I'm in. The third thing I remember is that the reward will last forever.

This is not the end of the story, friends. And you're going to be rewarded for being faithful to Christ in the valley of failure and the valley of fear and the valley of conflict and the valley of grief and the valley of brokenness and the valley of trouble and all the other valleys that are in scripture. Second Corinthians 4:17. For our present troubles are quite small in relative to eternity. Our present troubles are quite small and they won't last very long. Yet they are producing in us an eternal glory which will last forever and is greater than anything we can imagine.

You won't be in heaven one minute and you'll be going, "What was I thinking? Why did I complain so much? Why did I gripe so much? Why did I worry when I was going through these different valleys of life? It was worth it all." Now I don't know what valley you're going through, but Psalm 107 says this, up on the screen.

Some were living in gloom and darkness like prisoners suffering in chains because they'd rebelled against the commands of Almighty God. You weren't doing what God told you to do, so you're in a valley. And they had rejected his instructions. As a result, they're worn out from hard work. But then in their trouble, they called to the Lord and he saved them from their distress. He brought them out of their gloom and darkness. He broke their chains in pieces. And they now must thank the Lord for his constant love and for the wonderful things that he did for them.

Now until we get to heaven, we're going to face valleys. Believers have accidents, disappointments, financial problems, family issues, mental illness, physical illness. We all go through valleys. But here is the difference between a believer and an unbeliever. For a Christian, for a follower of Christ, going through the valleys is different from a non-believer. Not because of the absence of the shadow, but because of the presence of the Shepherd.

I will be with you. The Lord is my Shepherd and he gives me his promise of power and purpose and protection and peace and his presence. I don't know what kind of valley you're going through. Some of you are in the depth of the darkest valley, I have no doubt about that. But regardless of the type of valley, it's not going to last. There is a way out and you have a Shepherd. But you've got to decide to make him your Shepherd.

The Lord is not your Shepherd unless you've asked him to be your Shepherd, unless you've surrendered your life to him, unless you've said, "God, I can't make it through this valley without you." When you do that, now the Lord is my Shepherd and I have everything I need. And he does all these things for me.

Did you notice the change in tense when we went from verse three to verse four? Verse one, two, and three is how God helps us in the good times. He leads me, he guides me, he helps me, he makes me lie down and rest, he provides everything I need. It is third person—he.

Now we get to the problems and he switches and he says, "I will fear no evil for you are with me." He didn't say, "he is with me." He's not talking in third person anymore. Nothing makes the ultimate intimate faster than pain. Now he's not talking about God out there, he's talking about God in here. He has become "you." I'm not going to fear for you—you, you—are with me. And you will protect me. We're going to look at that in another week.

So there is this one last valley you need to go through. And it's the valley in Joel 3:14. Look up here on the screen. Multitudes, yet multitudes are in the valley of decision. For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision. You're in it right now. Before you were even born, God knew that you would be here listening to me speak. So he could say this to you. This is your moment of decision. This is your valley of decision. You're going to decide for me or against me, because it's going to decide everything else in your life. Make the wise choice. Let's bow our heads.

You're in the valley of decision, whether you're listening to this on the internet or the radio or at a campus or in a small group study. You're in the valley of decision. For the day of the Lord is near. What are you going to decide?

Are you going to decide to say, "God, I'm going to follow you, not my plan anymore. I'm going to have you as the manager of my life, not me anymore. I'm going to have you as the good Shepherd." Why don't you make that decision right now? Pray this prayer. Dear God, I know that valleys are a part of life, that they're inevitable. I've been through a lot of them. Hills and valleys, highs and lows, ups and downs. And I know I shouldn't be surprised when it happens. I know the valleys happen to everybody. I know that they're unpredictable, that I shouldn't even brag about tomorrow since I don't know what the day's going to bring forth.

And Lord, as we've looked at your word today, I see some of these valleys I've been in will probably be in again. The valley of Siddim where I've tried running from something, tried to avoid a battle, I've slipped, I've fallen, I've gotten stuck and I'm in the pits. And I've had a public failure. And Lord, I've been in that valley of Eshkol too, the valley of fear, where I've either take the risk and move forward or fall back and retreat in defeat.

And Lord, yes, I've been in the valley of Elah where I've had the conflict and I faced the giant problem and maybe you're facing it right now. And some of you would say, "Lord, I'm in the valley of Baca. I'm all dried up. I'm barren. I'm arid. I don't feel anything." Or I'm weeping and I'm grieving. I'm in the valley of grief and barrenness.

Say, help me to remember that I'm not alone. That when I go through it, you go with me. You'll be with me. And I'm saying today as a declaration, God's presence is all I need. I've made the sovereign Lord my shelter. Help me to remember that you have a good purpose for even the bad things that happen in my life. You turn them around and you use them for good. God, I'm asking you to transform the valley of trouble into a gateway of hope. I want to be a hope dispenser. I want to be an agent of hope in the world.

And when I start to get fatigued and the tunnel seems long and the valley seems dark, help me to remember that the reward will last forever. That our present troubles are really quite small and they're not going to last for very long, but they're producing an eternal glory that will last forever and is greater than anything we can imagine.

Jesus Christ, I'm asking you to be my good Shepherd. I take the hands off the wheel of my life and I ask you to sit in the driver's seat, be the director and the manager of my life from this day forward. I thank you, God. I thank you, God, that you are not just the God of the mountains. You're the God of the valleys. You're the God of my valleys. And so I honor you and I want to love you the rest of my life. In your name I pray. Amen.

You know, if you just prayed that prayer for the very first time, or you just recommitted your life to Jesus again today, would you let me know about it? There is something real about sharing your commitment. So write me, Rick at PastorRick.com, and say, "Rick, I prayed that prayer of commitment. I gave my life to Christ." And I'll send you some material that'll help you on your journey with Jesus and I'll also pray for you. God bless you.

Pastor Rick Warren: Hey, thanks so much for being with us today and listening to Pastor Rick's Daily Hope. I hope that you were just as blessed as I was from today's broadcast. Right now, here's Pastor Rick with a special message.

You know, when I started Saddleback Church over 40 years ago with just a handful of people in our living room, I also began writing a simple devotional just for the people in our church, to help them start each day with hope and with truth and with peace that comes from Jesus Christ. Well, you know, that little devotional grew and grew and today Daily Hope is one of the largest email devotionals in the whole world. And each day people all around the globe are reconnecting with God's promises and finding fresh strength in His Word to face whatever comes their way.

And here's the best part. It's absolutely free. Okay? We don't have any charge for this. Every day you'll get a quick devotional read and a podcast that you can listen to on the go. Now, in a world that's more distracted and uncertain than ever, I want to help you start your day centered on what never changes. And what never changes is God's love, His unconditional love for you, and His promises to you.

If you'll just spend just a few minutes a day in the morning with the Lord, it can bring so much more clarity, more purpose, more peace to everything that happens in your day. Particularly psychologists have said that what you do with the first five minutes of your day pretty much sets the tone. So friend, you were never meant to go through life alone. I want to personally invite you to just sign up for the Daily Hope devotional. Do it today. I think it's going to bring fresh encouragement to your walk in God.

If you'd like to sign up for the daily devotional, it's easy. Just go to PastorRick.com. That's PastorRick.com. Be sure to join us next time as we look into God's Word for our daily hope. This program is sponsored by Pastor Rick's Daily Hope and your generous financial support.