Psalm 71:19
Oh, what great troubles and adversities you have shown me! And yet you have turned and refreshed me; indeed, you have brought me again from the depths of the earth.
The shepherd leads through the valley. It is not a sign of his absence, but his presence and promise to come out the other side.
Genesis 14
After Abraham had gone forth in the night and conquered the enemies who had enslaved Lot (after Lot had himself willingly chose to put himself within the city of Sodom), the high priest Melchizedek offered bread and wine in thanksgiving. Abraham refused to take anything for himself, but gave everything for those whom he had saved. This is a mystery that points to Christ
John 7:1-24
Jesus’s work is not his own but the Father’s. The right response will only come from those who see the Father, and as we read yesterday, no one can come to Jesus unless the Father draws him. The entirety of fruitfulness in ministry is dependent on faithfulness to the Father who gives the increase. “So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.” (1 Corinthians 3:7)