The God of My Valleys
Walking Through The Valleys of Life – Part 3
May 3, 2020
Preschool Lesson: "God's Wonderful Gift"
Elementary Lesson: "Jesus is Faithful: Road to Emmaus"
Worship Leaders: Miguel Torres and Jim Carlile
Sermon: Pastor Ruben Ortega
“ 1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads 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.” (Psalm 23:1-4 
)
What We Know About “Valleys”:
- Valleys are a part of life. “But the land that you are going over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water by the rain from heaven …” (Deuteronomy 11:11 )
- Valleys happen to everyone. “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” (Psalm 34:19 )
- Valleys are unpredictable. “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.” (Proverbs 27:1 )
What Kind of Valleys Should We Expect To Go Through?
- The valley of failure/Siddim. (Genesis 14:1-11 )
“Now the Valley of Siddim was full of bitumen pits, and as the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, some fell into them, and the rest fled to the hill country.” (Genesis 14:10 )
- The valley of fear/Eschol. (Numbers 13:23-33 )
“And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.” (Numbers 13:33 )
- The valley of conflict/Elah. (1 Samuel 17:1-58 )
“And the Philistines stood on the mountain on the one side, and Israel stood on the mountain on the other side, with a valley between them.” (1 Samuel 17:3 )
- The valley of grief and barrenness/Baca. (Psalm 84:4-7 )
“ 5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion. 6 As they go through the Valley of Baca they make it a place of springs …” (Psalm 84:5-6 a)
When In Those Valleys Remember …
- … you’re not alone! “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me …” (Psalm 23:4 )
- … God has a good purpose for it! “ 3 … we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:3-5 )
- … the reward is eternal! “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison …” (2 Corinthians 4:17 )