Though & Through .."Though" in Despair, I can get "Through" it!

In American Sign Language, "r" is made by crossing the middle finger over the index finger. But crossed fingers have a history as sign language that far pre--dates ASL.

In the first centuries of the Church, when Christianity was wholly illegal and Christians were vigorously persecuted, believers found ways to communicate their faith in subtle ways.

Accompanying a greeting or farewell, crossed fingers were a code sign, identifying Christians to one another as "people of the cross."

They used Fish sign in dirt as well.
One would draw on swoop of the fish as the first part of the password. The other person…the other swoop.

But today, I’m talking about the “R”.

The “R” sign…as the sign for “People of the cross”. In this sense it stands for Jesus as the Christ.

In culture and society today, the crossed finger is meant in other terms…

If I cross my fingers like this and hold it behind my back…it sorta means it negates what I say.
If I am hoping for something really desperately,

I might cross both sets of fingers in a deep hope of a positive outcome.

But for our community… perhaps we can re-discover the ancient meaning.

Crossed fingers…is Jesus as the Christ.

And it makes sense…when we see it as the letter R

R…the letter R, is the only difference between two words…
Though & Through.

When we put R, or Christ into anything, it makes a huge difference.

It is that one letter that can turn your "though" into a "through."

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.

Though ….I have trouble on every side, I can get through it,…… because Christ is with me.Though ….I have failure, despair, rejection, I can get through it,…… because Christ is with me.

Here then, in many ways, is the secret to life!

Make the sign of the cross.

Worried about an outcome? About a stressful situation? Make the sign of the cross!

And things go from “Good Luck” to “I trust”. I trust Christ to get me “Through”

David, the innocent shepherd-boy, knew the truth behind that first word "though" -- there were dangers lurking around every corner.

In his case, there were “lions & tigers & bears, oh my”! There was flood and accident and starvation….truly living on the edge.

In the end though, he I believe he could say….
“Through it all, Through it all, I’ve learned to trust in God.”

Can we say the same thing?

Every one of us has a valley. Some of us have a valley we've been given at birth -- a valley of poverty, or abuse, or disability.
"Though" none of us gets out of life without walking the valley, the psalmist makes it plain that God does not intend for us to sojourn there forever.

The valley of the shadow is something one goes through. Valleys are not resting places, but passageways.

We can walk through our problems. We can walk through our sorrows. We can walk through our pain. We can walk through our screwups.

What Psalm 23 promises us is that, in all these journeys, the Lord will walk through with us."Though" and "through" differ only by one small letter -- the letter "r."; For us, the sign of the cross

This is what the crossed fingers of the letter "r," can mean.

Though we may walk in the darkness of the valley of the shadow, we are not alone.

God is with us. Walking through the valley with us is the one who suffered and died for our sake: The Crucified One. So in the end, we can say…
“Through it all, Through it all, I’ve learned to trust in Jesus, I’ve learned to trust in God.”