Sheep are protected in the valley by the shepherd. And so are we. Psalm 23:4 says, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me.” We get weak, sick; we break, lose our way; we grow weary, disoriented. But our Shepherd doesn’t. His power, wisdom and protection never weakens—it is consistently  eternally consistent. Does our Shepherd shield us FROM the valley? Not always. Sometimes it’s the only way to get to the goals and dreams (“green pastures”) He has for us. But nothing can separate you from God when you’re in it; and only God allows what happens through it. I know dark valleys. Even with God, it stinks to be in them. But it would stink more to be in it without Him. Some of you are walking through difficult valleys. REMEMBER: we walk through the valley we don’t live there. And our fear in this dark valley is legit, but the fear is our prerogative—because Jesus said, “don’t be afraid, little flock.” We don’t need to fear the valley if God is with us. We ONLY need to fear the valley if He isn’t. I hope this encourages someone today.