{"id":3364,"date":"2025-03-26T02:29:29","date_gmt":"2025-03-26T02:29:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/survivingmypastbecauseofmyfuture.com\/?p=3364"},"modified":"2025-03-26T02:29:29","modified_gmt":"2025-03-26T02:29:29","slug":"following-the-shepherd-in-the-dark","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/survivingmypastbecauseofmyfuture.com\/?p=3364","title":{"rendered":"Following the Shepherd In the Dark"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When you find yourself wandering in the dark valley of grief, it\u2019s important to check your gaze. Is it on the foreboding chasm surrounding you or the steadfast Shepherd extending His gentle hand, the only One who knows the Way to the other side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Keeping your eyes on the Shepherd doesn\u2019t make the grief neat and tidy, wrapped in a bow with a forever-after ending. All grief is messy and untamed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/bibleversestogo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Psalm_23_4-1.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You\u2019ll still endure painful sorrow, fill buckets with your tears, question and doubt, face overwhelming heartbreak, be at a loss for how to step forward, and hold a front-row seat to the harsh reality of your loved one\u2019s absence. These aren\u2019t evidence of a weak faith or a disobedient child of God. They\u2019re proof you\u2019re a human facing unimaginable pain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Don\u2019t lay down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Keep moving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Keep hoping.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Keep clinging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Keep reaching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Keep searching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Keep crying out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Keep following.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While you\u2019re \u201ckeeping\u201d on, the Shepherd will be nurturing gradual healing and restoration inside of you. He knows just what it takes to keep you from establishing residence in the valley.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Good Shepherd wants more for you than merely <strong><em>existing in misery<\/em><\/strong> until you are no more.\u00a0It may be impossible to believe now, but His goodness will guide you out of the darkness into the Light until you can live a life once more with <strong><em>eternal purpose and abundant meaning<\/em><\/strong>. Not in the same manner you did before. But certainly in a manner set forth by the Righteous Redeemer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/external-preview.redd.it\/for-the-lamb-at-the-center-of-the-throne-will-be-their-v0-TzaRKwOar3IDeXDBgfGEOj8YpESiKy3pj4d-CWy7NkY.jpg?auto=webp&amp;s=68f4dba704eac15f8ae1f48d07385904a0ad8e69\" alt=\"\"\/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When you find yourself wandering in the dark valley of grief, it\u2019s important to check your gaze. Is it on the foreboding chasm surrounding you or the steadfast Shepherd extending His gentle hand, the only One who knows the Way to the other side. Keeping your eyes on the Shepherd doesn\u2019t make the grief neat [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3365,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3364","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"blocksy_meta":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/survivingmypastbecauseofmyfuture.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Shepherd-600x400.jpg","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/survivingmypastbecauseofmyfuture.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Shepherd-600x600.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"survivingmypas","author_link":"https:\/\/survivingmypastbecauseofmyfuture.com\/?author=1"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/survivingmypastbecauseofmyfuture.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3364","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/survivingmypastbecauseofmyfuture.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/survivingmypastbecauseofmyfuture.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/survivingmypastbecauseofmyfuture.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/survivingmypastbecauseofmyfuture.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3364"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/survivingmypastbecauseofmyfuture.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3364\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/survivingmypastbecauseofmyfuture.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3365"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/survivingmypastbecauseofmyfuture.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/survivingmypastbecauseofmyfuture.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3364"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/survivingmypastbecauseofmyfuture.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}