Bible in a Year:
Though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.
Bart Millard penned a megahit in 2001 when he wrote, I Can Only Imagine. The song pictures how amazing it will be to be in Christs presence. Millards lyrics offered comfort to our family that next year when our seventeen-year-old daughter, Melissa, died in a car accident and we imagined what it was like for her to be in Gods presence.
But imagine spoke to me in a different way in the days following Mells death. As fathers of Melissas friends approached me, full of concern and pain, they said, I cant imagine what youre going through.
Their expressions were helpful, showing that they were grappling with our loss in an empathetic wayfinding it unimaginable.
David pinpointed the depth of great loss when he described walking through the darkest valley (Psalm 23:4). The death of a loved one certainly is that, and we sometimes have no idea how were going to navigate the darkness. We cant imagine ever being able to come out on the other side.
But as God promised to be with us in our darkest valley now, He also provides great hope for the future by assuring us that beyond the valley well be in His presence. For the believer, to be away from the body means being present with Him (2 Corinthians 5:8). That can help us navigate the unimaginable as we imagine our future reunion with Him and others.
Whats the best thing you can say to friends whove suffered the loss of someone they loved? How can you prepare for those times?
Thank You, God, for being with us even in the darkest valley as we imagine the glories of heaven.
For hope, read Life After Loss at discoveryseries.org/cb131.
Greetings to all at the Canteen!
To all our military men and women, past and present,
Find memories of VAFB...
Remember the deer mowing down the bushes near my window.
Was in Vandenberg in the mid 80s for doing fit checks of the processing facility and launch pad with Enterprise. We were going to launch shuttles from SLC 6. Would have been pretty sporty if it ever would have happened. West coast launches were cancelled after Challenger.
Great post. Thanks
I worked at Vandenberg AFB for 30 years.
Vandenberg is now part of the Space Operations Command.
Thanks President Trump.......Trump 2020
How's everyone doing this morning?