May 8, 2007 Psalm 23

1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,

3 he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.

4 Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.

6 Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.

Psalm 23:4, NIV

I have said before that there are reasons for valleys-- God knows why we are in the valleys we are in. Today He revealed part of the why for me. Today I hit the bottom of the lowness I have been in... today, I begged for His help. Today, I let go of everything and surrendered it all to His will. The reason for my valley has been that all along. If I am not the one in control and I firmly believe that, I need to give it ALL back to Him-- no more holding on to anything-- nothing. He knows me too well-- if I think I have the slightest bit of my own control over anything, I will take more and more back-- little bit by little bit. I cannot say that I do not want out of this valley, but I now know, it is not mine to climb out of.