“Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil;
for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4, NRSV).
You Are With Me
“God, you are with me.” What a powerful statement of faith that is! Say it with me: “You are with me.” One more time: “You are with me.”
How does that make you feel? Do you feel safe? Do you feel at peace? Do you sense the “blessed assurance” of God’s Holy Spirit in your life?
The psalmist says that even though we walk through “the darkest valley,” we fear no evil. The King James Version of the Bible, the one that many of us grew up reciting, says, “the valley of the shadow of death.”
The shadow represents the uncertainty in our lives. The uncertainty of floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes — climate change. The uncertainty of aggression through war, gun violence, human trafficking and international tensions. The uncertainty of employment, inflation, illness — a global pandemic. Yes, the shadow of death is all around us.
Yet, in Christ, we can boldly proclaim, “You are with me. Your rod will protect me from uncertain foes who wish to do me harm, and your staff will guide me on the right path for your name’s sake. I fear no evil.” In so doing, you proclaim God’s presence of peace — peace amid uncertainty — in your own life.
As a community of faith, we receive the Peace & Global Witness Offering, and as we do, we extend Christ’s peace throughout our community and world even in these uncertain times. Twenty-five percent of the gifts we receive will stay right here in our church to work for peace and reconciliation alongside (share how your congregation will be using its portion of the offering). Another 25% will support the peacemaking efforts in our mid council, and 50% will go the Presbyterian Mission Agency for its ministries of peacemaking and global witness all around the world.
In just a little while, we will celebrate the Lord’s Supper on this World Communion Sunday. Luke’s Gospel tells us on that very first Easter as Jesus was walking down the road to Emmaus, he met two disciples who were unknown to him. When they invited him to join them for a meal, Jesus took bread and blessed it. When he did, their eyes were opened, and their hearts were strangely warmed. They were in the “real presence” of their Risen Lord and Savior.
Our hope this morning is that when we share this holy meal, our eyes will also be opened, our hearts will be strangely warmed, and we will recognize the presence of the Risen Lord among us. Then, we can boldly proclaim, “You are with me.”
Let us pray~
“Even though we walk through the uncertainty of life, we fear no evil; for we proclaim, you are with us” (Psalm 23:4). Amen.