“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”

—Psalm 23:4

Sometimes I feel like God is far away because I don’t sense His presence. There are times when I’m trying to get hold of God, but I don’t feel Him. I don’t hear His voice. I go through times—it may be a day, several days, or even longer—when I just feel like He’s not communicating with me. But during those seasons, I practice walking by faith rather than my feelings, and I declare that He is with me even when I feel nothing.

This is what David demonstrated in today’s verse. You don’t necessarily feel God’s presence when you’re walking through the valley of the shadow of death. But faith goes beyond feeling, and it’s rooted and centered in the living Word of God.

David said, “Even though right now I’m walking through this valley, this shadow, this wasteland, this emptiness, where it seems like there’s no life, I will fear no evil for You are with me.” The same is true for you and me. God is with us wherever we are. He wants to increase our faith by putting us in situations where it appears as though He’s not there. He has purposed to bring us to a place where, because of our faith in His Word, we can affirm in our hearts, minds, and emotions that HaShem is with us, though we feel nothing.

Beloved, the truth is that to get to the next level in our spiritual walk, our faith is going to have to be tested. That means we’ll have to learn to walk by faith through some valleys of the shadow of death, trusting and affirming God’s Word over our lives and circumstances.

God is with you wherever you are today. Affirm that truth and let it take root in your heart. As you do, you will become stronger and stronger.

Father God, I declare that even when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death— when I feel like You’re far away—I will not fear because I know You are with me. Lord, help me not to be led by my feelings but to be led by Your Spirit. Help me to trust You. Even when I don’t feel You, I will trust Your Word, which says You’ll never leave me nor forsake me.

Rabbi Kirt A. Schneider, Rivers of Divine Truth (Lake Mary, FL: Charisma House, 2021), Used by permission.