"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." ...Psalms 23:4

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

We often forget that we are walking through the valley of the shadow of death. This earth is fallen. For now, Satan is the prince of this world. The evil that takes place here should not surprise us in the least. It is not as if God has not told us about it.

Yet we tend to go about our lives as if the world is a white canvas, shocked when we see black spots on it. We have it just backwards. The word is not a white canvas, but rather a black one. Instead of being shocked by the evil works of darkness in this world, we should be in awe of the goodness of the Lord that we see here.

Jesus is the light, not the world. If we want to see goodness, we should not look to the world. We should look to Jesus Christ. We must always keep in mind that there is a battle being fought here; earth is not a happy playground. And that though we must fight the good fight and never give up, the battle belongs to the Lord and is won by Him too. 

Not only did the Lord tell us in His Word of the evil that this world is, He also told us how to deal with it and that He would get us through it (giving us peace in the storm and life abundantly) and that ultimately He will one day set everything right. Consider the first ten verses of Psalm 37.

1 Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.

2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.

3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.

4 Delight thyself also in the LORD: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

5 Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.

7 Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.

8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.

9 For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth.

10 For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: yea, thou shalt diligently consider his place, and it shall not be.

Rest in Christ, dear brothers and sisters. Jesus is with us.