Marissa Henley

Encouraging weary women to hope in Christ alone

Your Shepherd is With You

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Every October, the memories from 2010 come flooding back. As the leaves get more colorful, the nights get longer, and the mornings get chillier, it reminds me of the year I found a lump, had a biopsy, waited for results, and then heard the doctor say a word I’d never heard of before: angiosarcoma. When I googled this rare cancer, I was struck with the reality that I might not live to see my kids grow up. I spent the next several months battling through the valley of the shadow of death. 

Your experience with that valley may be different. Whether it’s a life-threatening illness, heartbreaking loss, or the grief that comes from the horrific current events in this world, we all encounter the reality of suffering in some way. So when we read Psalm 23:4, it’s not hypothetical. 

Even if this verse is familiar, take a minute to read it slowly and absorb this promise from God’s Word: 

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4)

The psalmist drew comfort from these four words: “You are with me.” We have peace in the midst of suffering because God is always with us and will never abandon us. 

This verse also tells us that as we endure the pain of suffering, we have nothing to fear. Through our tears and our heartbreak, we can have confidence that Christ conquered cancer, sickness, death, and loss when He rose from the grave. We can say with the apostle Paul, “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55).

Because our Shepherd, Jesus Christ, experienced death for us, we will never walk through death’s shadow alone. Because our Shepherd suffered for us, we can face suffering without fear. Because our Shepherd demonstrated His love for us on the cross, we have confidence that He will always be there to comfort us and will one day wipe away all our tears. 

No matter what you face this week, your Shepherd is with you in your suffering. 

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The Lord is in His Holy Temple {No Matter What Monday}

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This week we’re continuing in the book of Habakkuk, where we see a conversation between God and a suffering prophet. Habakkuk cried out to the Lord for help, and God told him that He would bring the Chaldeans to oppress the people of Judah. (This was not good news!) As the conversation continues, God tells Habakkuk that He will eventually bring justice and punishment to the wicked Chaldeans. There will be suffering and hardship, but deliverance will come (Habakkuk 2:5-19). 

Then God speaks these words of comfort to Habakkuk: 

“But the LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him.” (Habakkuk 2:20)

When I first read these words, they didn’t strike me as greeting card material. I haven’t yet shared this verse in a “thinking of you” card. How can we find comfort in these words? 

The Lord’s presence in His holy temple teaches us that He is ruling and reigning over all things. Psalm 11:4 says, “The LORD is in his holy temple; the LORD’s throne is in heaven; his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.” He’s ruling from His throne, and He also sees us. He sees the sin of others that affects us. He sees our hurt. He sees our tears. 

And since we live at this point in history, after the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Lord’s presence in His holy temple means even more. God the Son left the throne of heaven to dwell among us. Now His redeemed people have the Holy Spirit dwelling in us – now we are God’s temple. First Corinthians 3:16 says, “Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?”

God says in Habakkuk 2:20 that He is in His holy temple – and Scripture tells us that we are God’s temple. What does that mean? It means God is with us. 

The words of this verse brings comfort to those who are in Christ because we know the Lord reigns from His throne and He resides with us in our suffering. 

No matter what you face this week, the Lord is in His holy temple. 

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God Can and Will Keep His Promises {No Matter What Monday}

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This month we’re looking at a conversation between a prophet and God in the book of Habakkuk. Last week, we saw Habakkuk cry out to God in his suffering. God answered that He is at work in the situation, but Habakkuk’s circumstances would get worse before they got better (Habakkuk 1:1-11). Habakkuk reminds himself of the truth of God’s character and then waits with eager expectation to hear how God will respond (Habakkuk 2:1). 

“And the LORD answered me: ‘Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it. For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay. ‘Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.’” (Habakkuk 2:2-4)

This phrase—the righteous shall live by his faith—is quoted three times in the New Testament (Romans 1:17, Galatians 3:11, and Hebrews 10:37-38). When we take all of these passages together, we see that the faith mentioned here ultimately points to faith in Jesus Christ.  

When we live by faith, we believe that God’s promises are true. We believe that Jesus Christ has battled our worst enemies—sin, evil, and death—and He is victorious. 

God put His power on display in the death and resurrection of Jesus—He has the power to deliver on His promises. 

And while we were His enemies, Christ laid down His life for us (Romans 5:8). He loves us, and we are His—He can be trusted to deliver on His promises. 

So as Habakkuk lives out God’s exhortation to “wait for it” in verse 3, he can take comfort knowing that God can and will deliver on His promises. This is how the righteous live by faith: we believe that God’s promises are true while we wait for His purposes to unfold. 

No matter what you face this week, you can have faith that God can and will keep all His promises to you. 

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God is Still Working {No Matter What Monday}

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Have you ever found yourself in a difficult situation that just keeps getting worse? In the short Old Testament book Habakkuk, we get to hear a conversation between the prophet and God. Habakkuk cries out to God because of the wickedness and oppression he sees around him and begs God to intervene (Habakkuk 1:1-4). Then the Lord replies: 

“Look among the nations, and see; wonder and be astounded. For I am doing a work in your days that you would not believe if told.” (Habakkuk 1:5)

This sounds like just the answer Habakkuk is looking for, right? But then we keep reading. God goes on to say that He’s going to bring in the Chaldeans (aka, the Babylonians) and that they are even more violent and wicked than the current Assyrian oppressors. 

Wait, what?! I can only imagine the look on Habakkuk’s face as he absorbs this news: things are bad, and they’re getting worse. 

Have you ever felt like God has abandoned you in your suffering? Maybe you struggle to see how He’s at work in your situation. You’ve prayed and begged and pleaded but it feels like God hasn’t shown up. 

When Habakkuk hears this discouraging response from the Lord, he reminds himself of the truth of God’s character. He affirms God’s eternality, holiness, sovereignty, and love for justice (Habakkuk 1:12-17). He trusts God to work in a way consistent with His character. 

This month we are going to look at the continuing conversation between God and Habakkuk. We will see what it means to live by faith in suffering. We will see the precious promise of God’s reign over all and the joy we have in His salvation. 

But today, I want us to remember this: God is at work. It’s not always the answer we’re hoping for. But our God rules over the nations and over every day of our lives. He never stops working in a way that is consistent with His character. He is faithful in all that He does. 

No matter what you face this week, God is at work even when things are getting worse. 

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