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Psalm 23:4 - 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.

Loss. There are different kinds of loss: loss of a job, loss of a friendship, loss of finances, loss of health, loss of direction and many others. But the loss that is most likely to cause you to walk through the darkest valley is death.
 
This loss is universal. It hits everyone at some time of our lives. And when it hits, the light that once flooded our life is shut out.
 
Up until a couple of years ago, I had experienced all the losses above except for a loss in death. But then, my father passed away. I’d seen other people go through loss of a loved one, even read about it, but I hadn’t experienced it. And until you personally go through this kind of loss, there’s just no way you can understand what someone else is going through.
 
When I found out my father had died it was like as if someone had thrown a punch at my stomach. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t move. Everything around me felt like I was going through slow motion.
 
I found myself walking through that ultimate dark valley. But I wasn’t in it alone. I had my family who were also walking through grief. And I had my friends who supported me and the One who is always with me.
 
In the Bible verse above it states that God’s rod and staff comforted the writer. This reference was in correlation to a shepherd taking care of his flock.
 
The staff was not used to beat the sheep into submission. The staff was used to gently tap the sheep to move them in the direction they needed to go, or it was raised in the air as the shepherd himself guided the sheep to greener pastures.
 
It was also used to protect the sheep from the attack of a wolf or other wild animals. So it is with God. He uses his staff to guide us on our path and to protect us from harm.
 
We need not fear a dark valley for ultimately our sure hope will guide us even through the valley of death to our eternal home.

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​Psalm 147:3 - He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

With chronic pain and illness, many times people can see your pain just by looking at you. Whether it be walking with a cane or clutching your belly. The pain is visible.
 
With emotional pain sometimes you can tell when someone is hurting, but for the most part, emotional pain and loss are the “invisible” pains.
 
But even though the pain is invisible, it still hurts just as much, if not even more than physical pain.
 
It’s so easy, at least for me, to put on a good face and act like nothing’s wrong. I have masks I can pull out of the closet in my mind and put on. No one would ever know I’m hiding my true feelings.
 
But that’s not the healthy way. Our pain only deepens as we try to push it down. Eventually the ticking bomb will explode.
 
This is the real danger. Eventually, we will break down. Our hearts will lay before us broken and crushed. Nothing seems to matter anymore and we stop caring about life and slip into the darkness.
 
This is where the writer of the Bible verse above, David, found himself. He was in the middle of painful circumstances which he felt he could do nothing about. His broken heart was oozing into all areas of his life. It was difficult to move and take part in his normal activities.

For, just as I stated above, emotional pain not only affects the mind but also the body.
 
But things didn’t stay that way for David. He knew where to find true help. He reached his hand out to the One he knew would never desert him in his time of need. In turn, a healing balm was placed on his wounds and bound up with strips of love and hope.
 
Light can shine into our lives once more, dear friend. Won’t you give your pain to the One who truly cares? He’s ready to be there for you and help heal your broken heart.

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