You Are Never Alone Week 5 — God Is with You in the Valley

For our sake [God] made [Christ] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. — 2 Corinthians 5:21

His command at Bethany had been enough to call Lazarus from the grave. His announcement at Calvary was sufficient to save all who believe in Him from eternal death. ~ Max

Hey, friends! It’s week five of the You Are Never Alone OBS! This week we’re talking about that which is more inevitable than taxes.

Death disturbs me. It’s terribly assaulting to our senses, isn’t it? Somehow, at the cellular level, we know that death is just… wrong. We weren’t built to die.

Five years ago, my dad, my Poppy died. I flew down the stairs at my mother’s yell for help and performed CPR on him on the family room floor waiting for the EMTs to come. I heard his ribs breaking under the compressions and imagined profusely apologizing to him once he was awake in recovery. Mama and I raced after the ambulance to the hospital after a fireman told two scared, pallid faces to “be prepared”. We watched as they cut off his clothes and tried every life-saving measure. And then, we laid hands on his body and praised God for His goodness to lend us a truly wonderful man to be a husband, father, preacher, friend, grandfather. Finally, we walked out the sliding doors huddling together with our fingers intertwined and our hearts broken. Just the two of us. No Poppy.

Jesus meets you at your lowest moments, but he also meets you in the valley of the shadow of death. ~ Max

Martha went out to meet her Friend, Jesus, when He showed up after Lazarus was already dead. So would I have.

Where were You?.. If You, my dearest Friend, had only come on time… I told You that the one that You love was ill…

I’m so glad John recorded His tears. He knew what He would do and yet He wept not only because He loved Mary and Martha and felt deep empathy for them, but also because death is so barbaric.

You need help to make it through this life. You need help to navigate both the deepest valleys and the highest peaks. But, more important, you need help at the end of this life. ~ Max

The truth for all of us is that the finish line is drawing closer and closer. Without Jesus, we’re lost. Forever. But, with Him, Heaven!

God has put the sins of humanity on Him. And the judgement for those sins. ~ Max

Our part is just to receive. Just to take His free, unmerited gift. The debt is already paid. We just have to say yes.

The work of Christ on the Cross satisfied the demands of the eternal tribunal. ~ Max

We are spared. Even in death!

Yes, Lord… I have always believed that You are the Messiah, the Son of God, the One who has come into the world from God. — John 11:27

Others may dredge up our past, but God does not. ~ Max

Whenever the end of my life is, my Friend will be waiting.

This week in your study:

1. Watch the video for session five of You Are Never Alone on our study home page and take notes in your study guide on pages 89-96 and then stick around for the conversation with our OBS community!
2. Grab your Bible and enjoy your personal study this week on pages 97-109.
3. Join the conversations about this week’s teaching and get to know our community in our private Facebook group.

Scriptures this Week

Luke 10:41-42
John 11:3
John 11:4
John 11:21
John 11:23-24
John 11:25-26
John 11:27
John 11:39
John 11:43
John 11:44
John 11:48
Matthew 27:46
John 19:30
Hebrews 10:14
Exodus 13:2
Exodus 13:13
2 Corinthians 5:21
Luke 22:19
John 15:13

Prayer for the Week

Jesus, we love You. Thank You for Your astonishing gift. Thank You for paying our way to Heaven even though we have done nothing to deserve it. Thank You for understanding the grief of a loved one passing away. Thank you for weeping with us if that friend or family member doesn’t wake up even though we pray. We trust You. We thank You. We love You. Amen.