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The big idea

Valleys are inevitable and unpredictable, but they are also temporary, and God is with us in them just as He was with David.

Life will include valley seasons that we can't predict or avoid, but David's words in Psalm 23 remind us those valleys don't last forever and God is present in them. When we're walking through hard times, we can choose to refuse discouragement, remember God is with us, and trust that His strength is bigger than whatever we're facing.

Point 1 of 6

Valleys are an inevitable part of life, even for people God is clearly using.

Pastor Daniel walks through the life of David, from being anointed king at 13 to killing Goliath, to running for his life, to becoming king, to his affair and the loss of his son, to his son's attempted overthrow. He points out that David had both incredibly high moments and really difficult ones, showing that valleys are simply part of life, even for someone as significant as David.

Point 2 of 6

Valleys are also unpredictable — they tend to pile up without warning.

He notes that God doesn't call ahead to warn us when trouble is coming; hard things just seem to culminate on top of each other. He points to Jeremiah's description of sudden destruction and crushed shelters as an example of this same unpredictability.

Point 3 of 6

Valleys are temporary — how you feel today will not be how you feel forever.

Pastor Daniel encourages listeners in a valley season to hold on because better days are coming, citing 1 Peter as a promise of joy after a little while of trials.

How you feel today won't be how you feel forever

— Daniel Goulding

Point 4 of 6

Make a decision to refuse discouragement, like David did.

David declared 'I will fear no evil' in the middle of his life falling apart, even though he couldn't control his circumstances. Pastor Daniel explains that David calls it 'the shadow of death' because a shadow can scare you but can't actually hurt you, and the enemy convinces us to fear things that have no real power over us.

Point 5 of 6

Remember that God is with you, even when life feels like it's falling apart.

He points out that verse four is the only place in the psalm where David shifts from speaking about God in the third person ('he') to speaking to God directly in the second person ('you'), showing that in the valley David leaned into God's nearness rather than just describing Him from a distance.

David made a decision that that I'm not going to be discouraged

— Daniel Goulding

a shadow actually can't hurt you. It's just something that can scare you, but it can't actually do something to you

— Daniel Goulding

Point 6 of 6

Remember how big your God is compared to what's in front of you.

David recalls the shepherd's rod and staff as tools that fight for the flock, a picture of God defending us. Pastor Daniel tells a story about his mom being terrified of a small mouse in the house until his brother calmly shot it with a BB gun and walked away unbothered, illustrating that what overwhelms us can be nothing to God.

it doesn't matter how big the thing is that is in front of you. When you really know how big your god is

— Daniel Goulding

A story from life

A story about the preacher's mother's extreme fear of mice and his brother's quick, decisive response — used to illustrate how the size of a problem depends on who is handling it.

Take it into your week

Pastor Daniel frames it as three simple things David shows us for walking through a valley season.

Application

Refuse to be discouraged
Like David, make a decision that even though you can't control your circumstances, you can control how you walk through them — declare that you will not let discouragement take hold.
Remember God is with you
In the hardest moments, follow David's shift from talking about God to talking to God directly, and remember He is present with you even when life feels like it's falling apart.
Remember how big your God is
Whatever feels overwhelming or daunting this week, measure it against the size of God rather than the size of the problem, trusting He can defeat what feels too big for you.

Keep going

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