Skip to main content

Ask Rewind

Sign in to ask Rewind about this sermon — answers are grounded in the actual transcripts.

The study, discipleship, and teaching platform built on your church's own preaching.

Product

How it works
Pricing
What's new
Churches on Rewind

Solutions

For churches
For teaching teams
For groups
For seminaries
Agency partners

Company

About
Contact

Legal

Trust & your data
Terms
Privacy
How we use AI
Accessibility

© 2026 Rewind

Finding Peace in the Valley | Daniel Goulding | Echoes Church · Rewind

Echoes Church

Daniel Goulding · Mar 29, 2025

Daniel Goulding · Mar 29, 2025 · 17 min watch · 2 min read

Finding Peace in the Valley | Daniel Goulding | Echoes Church

Devotional days

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
Day 7

Scripture in this message

Psalm 23
Psalm 23:4
Jeremiah 4:20
1 Peter 1:6

Big Idea Key points Application

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.

Key points

1
1Valleys 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.
2
2Valleys 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.
3
3Valleys 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.
4
4Make 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.
5
5Remember 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.
6
6Remember 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.

Application

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

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.

Take it into your week

Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

Sign in to ask Rewind about this sermon

Scripture in this message

From the transcript
“I just felt led to share with you again a Psalm that you've heard before. Psalm 23, it's the the famous one”
From the transcript
“And then he kind of crescendos in verse four when he says that even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil”
From the transcript
“The prophet Jeremiah actually says this in Jeremiah four twenty about this idea of valleys being incredibly unpredictable. He says that waves of destruction roll over the land”
From the transcript
“We know first Peter one six says that we can be truly get, be truly glad. There's wonderful joy ahead. Even though you must endure many trials for a little while”

Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

7-day devotional

A personal reading plan from this message — scripture, reflection, and prayer for each day.

Sign in to track your progress through this devotional.

Day 1

Pastor Daniel reminded us that valleys are not a sign something has gone wrong with your faith — they are simply a normal part of every life. David, who wrote these words as an aging king, had walked through more valleys than most. He didn't pretend they weren't real. He named the valley plainly: "the darkest valley," "the valley of the shadow of death." There is honesty here that gives us permission to be honest too. You don't have to perform your way out of a hard season or act like it isn't happening. The shepherd David trusted led him through real lowlands, not around them. Notice the small but enormous word in the middle of the verse: "through." A valley is a passage, not a permanent address. If you are walking a low road right now, this psalm doesn't shame you for being there. It walks beside you. The same God who was present for David in his valleys is present for you in yours — and He is leading you somewhere, not abandoning you in the dark. Today, simply let yourself name where you actually are. Honesty before God is the first step toward letting Him lead.

For reflection

Where am I tempted to pretend a valley isn't real, and what would it look like to be honest with God about it today?

Pray

Pray for honesty before God about the valley you're actually walking through right now.

Day 2

"Disaster piles upon disaster; the whole land lies in ruins." Pastor Daniel pointed to this verse to capture how unpredictable valleys can feel — they don't send a warning, and they rarely come one at a time. Sometimes it feels like everything caves in at once, and you're left wondering how the ground shifted so fast. If that is your experience, you are not weak for feeling overwhelmed. The prophet himself put the devastation into words. There is something steadying about Scripture being willing to say it that plainly: the Bible doesn't airbrush suffering. It looks straight at it. And yet even in Jeremiah, the God who lets the lament be spoken is the same God who never leaves the room. The point is not that you should feel less; it's that you don't have to carry the suddenness alone. When the valley arrives without warning, you have a Shepherd who was not caught off guard by it. He saw it coming long before you did, and He is already with you in it. Bring the chaos to Him exactly as it is — unsorted, unfinished, raw. That's not a lack of faith. That's faith finding its voice.

For reflection

What feels like it has piled up all at once, and have I actually brought that weight to God in words?

Pray

Pray for the courage to name, out loud to God, the things that have piled up unexpectedly.

Day 3

"So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while." Pastor Daniel anchored a crucial truth here: valleys are temporary. You will not feel this way forever. Peter doesn't dismiss the trials — he calls them real, and he acknowledges they must be endured. But he frames them with two words that change everything: "a little while." From inside a valley, a hard season can feel endless, as though this is just how life is now. Peter gently lifts our eyes past the present to the joy that is coming. This isn't wishful thinking; it's the settled hope of people who know how the story ends. The God who holds your future has already secured joy on the other side of what you're carrying. Holding onto that doesn't mean rushing yourself through grief or pretending you're fine. It means refusing to believe the lie that the valley is permanent. Today, let the phrase "a little while" do its quiet work. Your current season is real, but it is not the whole story, and it is not the final word.

For reflection

What lie about my valley being permanent do I need to release, and what would change if I trusted it's only "a little while"?

Pray

Pray for fresh hope that your current season is temporary and that joy is genuinely ahead.

Day 4

"I will not be afraid, for You are close beside me." Pastor Daniel drew out the first part of his challenge here: refuse to be discouraged. Notice that David makes a deliberate decision — "I will not be afraid." Fear is human, and the valley gives plenty of reasons for it. But David shows us there is a difference between feeling fear and surrendering to it. We may not get to choose what comes against us, but we do get some say in how we walk through it. Pastor Daniel made a striking observation: it is the valley of the *shadow* of death. A shadow can frighten you, but a shadow cannot actually harm you. The enemy would love to steal your peace using shadows — fears of what might happen, replays of what already did. Refusing discouragement isn't denial or forced positivity. It's a quiet, daily choice to not hand your peace over to something that has no real power to destroy you. This is not a one-time decision but a posture you return to each morning. Today, you can make that choice again — not because the valley is small, but because your Shepherd is close beside you in it.

For reflection

What shadow has been stealing my peace, and what would it look like to deliberately refuse discouragement today?

Pray

Pray for the resolve to refuse discouragement and to stop handing your peace to shadows that cannot truly harm you.

Day 5

Pastor Daniel pointed out something easy to miss in this psalm. Up to this point, David has been speaking *about* God — "He lets me rest," "He leads me," "He renews my strength." But right here, at the darkest point of the psalm, in the valley of the shadow of death, David turns and speaks *to* Him: "for You are close beside me." The grammar shifts from talking about God to talking with God. That is the heart of the second part of Pastor Daniel's challenge: remember that God is with you — right now, in this season, not only in the good times. There's something profound in that shift. The valley, of all places, became the spot where David's relationship with God got most direct and most personal. Often it's the same for us. When everything is comfortable, we can drift into talking about God from a safe distance. But the valley pulls us close, and suddenly we're speaking to Him face to face. Don't waste the nearness this season offers. Turn from talking *about* God to talking *to* Him today. The intimacy you've been longing for might be closest right where you least expected it.

For reflection

Am I talking about God from a distance, or talking to Him directly — and what would move me closer today?

Pray

Pray directly to God, telling Him honestly that you need His nearness in this exact season.

Day 6

"Your rod and Your staff protect and comfort me." Pastor Daniel closed his challenge with this: remember how big your God is. A shepherd's rod was a weapon — used to drive off predators and fight for the flock. The staff was for guiding and rescuing. Together they tell us we serve a God who is not passively watching from a distance but actively fighting on our behalf. That changes how we walk through a valley. You are not defenseless, and you are not alone. The same God who holds that rod and staff is the One whose empty tomb declared victory over death itself. Pastor Daniel put it plainly: because Jesus conquered the grave, nothing in this world can ultimately defeat you. The God fighting for you today has never lost a fight. When the valley tempts you to feel small and overpowered, the antidote isn't to talk yourself into being stronger — it's to remember how big He is. Set your circumstances next to the resurrection and let them find their proper size. If you're hanging on by a thread today, hang on. The Shepherd has the rod and staff in hand, and He is fighting for you.

For reflection

When I picture my valley next to the empty tomb, how does my sense of the size of my problem change?

Pray

Pray to see how big your God is — the One who conquered the grave and is fighting for you today.

Day 7

This week we walked through the whole of David's most beloved psalm with Pastor Daniel, and it helps to read it once more as a single, unbroken thought. It begins with the Shepherd providing rest and renewal, moves through the valley of the shadow of death, and ends in a house where goodness and unfailing love pursue us all our days. The valley is real, but it is bracketed on both sides by the Shepherd's care. That's the whole picture: valleys are inevitable, unpredictable, and temporary, but God is present through every step. Pastor Daniel's threefold challenge gives us something to live out, not just admire — refuse discouragement, remember God is with you right now, and remind yourself how big He is. None of that is meant to stay on the page. Take a real next step this week: bring your valley into the light with someone you trust, open the Word when fear rises instead of scrolling past it, and let your honest story of the Shepherd's faithfulness encourage someone else who's walking a low road. You don't have to walk it alone, and you weren't meant to. Hang on — your best days still lie ahead, and the Shepherd is leading you home.

For reflection

Which of the three challenges — refusing discouragement, remembering God's presence, or remembering His size — is God inviting me to live out first, and with whom could I share this journey?

Pray

Pray for grace to live out the whole of Psalm 23 this week, and for one person you can walk the journey alongside.

Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

Small-group discussion guide

For leading a group conversation about this message.

Open

Most of us know the words of Psalm 23 well enough to recite parts of it, yet this message asked us to slow down at one line in particular — the walk through the darkest valley. Let's start by sharing what part of this psalm has felt familiar, and what felt new hearing it taught this way.

Discussion questions

1
Pastor Daniel described valleys as inevitable, unpredictable, and temporary. As you read Psalm 23:4, what stands out about how David talks about the valley itself?
2
The message pointed out that David calls it the valley of 'the shadow of death.' What might it mean that it is a shadow, and how could that shape the way people walk through a hard season?
3
In the message, Pastor Daniel noted that at the darkest point of the psalm David shifts from speaking about God to speaking directly to Him — 'You are with me.' Why do you think that shift happens right there?
4
Peter writes that we can have 'wonderful joy ahead' even while enduring trials for a little while. How do you think someone holds those two realities — real hardship and real hope — together at the same time?
5
Pastor Daniel challenged us to make a deliberate decision to refuse discouragement, saying we may not control what comes against us but we can control how we walk through it. What might that decision actually look like for a group of believers supporting one another?
6
The message connected the rod and staff to the God who conquered the grave fighting for us today. How might remembering how big God is change the way we encourage someone who feels stuck in a valley?

Pray together

Thank God that He is present right now, rod and staff in hand, and ask Him to help each person quietly trust — between themselves and God this week — that better days lie ahead because the God who has never lost a fight is fighting for them.

Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

Sign in to save this message.

Topics

Finding Peace in Difficulty God's Presence in Suffering Overcoming Discouragement Trust in God's Protection

Powered by Rewind · make your church's Rewind →