Even Though I Walk Through the Valley Continued…

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Yea…

The first word of Psalm 23:4 links verse 3 to verse 4, saying, in effect, “He leads me in paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake.  Yes, even when those paths lead into dark canyons.”

Though I Walk Through…

The next phrase represents the necessary transitions that shepherds and their flocks had to endure to get to better pastures.  As one shepherd wrote, “Every mountain has its valleys.  Its sides are scarred by deep ravines and gulches and draws.  And the best route to the top is always through these valleys.  Any sheepman familiar with the high country knows this.  He leads his flock gently, but persistently up the paths that wind through the dark valleys.”

All of us would rather be in green pastures or mountain heights, but sometimes we’re in valleys that can be long, dark, and severe.  Have you stopped to recognize that every hero of the Bible walked through valleys?  Remember Joseph, who went looking for his brothers in Genesis 37?  He was a seventeen-year-old, who was betrayed by his brothers and sold into slavery.  Joseph’s first response was terror, anguish, and pleading (Genesis 42:21).  But when he emerged from this valley at age thirty, he was ready to be prime minister of Egypt.

Valleys have openings on both ends.  As Morgan wrote in his book The Red Sea Rules, just like the Israelites who felt trapped with Pharoah’s troops in pursuit, “The same God who led you in will lead you out.”

David used the word through, which indicates a transition with a brighter path and hopeful future ahead.  For Christians, problems are always temporary and blessings always eternal.  What a wonderful word is that little preposition—through.

The Valley of the Shadow of Death…

Another important word in verse 4 is shadow.

Have you ever been hit by the shadow of a train?  Think about it, a human being—even a child—can be hit by a shadow going hundreds of miles an hour without suffering the slightest bruise.

Here’s the point: the locomotive force of the wrath of a holy God hit Jesus Christ as He hung on Calvary’s cross on Good Friday.  He collided with our sins.  The guilt of ages bore down upon Him.  The sky turned dark; the earth quaked; the angels recoiled in horror.  The Good Shepherd laid down His life for His sheep and bore our death full force.  As a result, we’re hit only by the shadow of death.

Are you passing through the valley?  If so, you know that the black bag of sorrow is hard to bear because not everyone understands the grief you face with the death of a loved one.  They seemed to get it at the funeral.  Then, they seemed supportive at the graveside.  But they don’t now; they don’t understand.  Grief lingers.  You’re left to deal with unlived tomorrows.

We want to know why, but we can’t answer that question.  Only God knows, but we can stand on this truth, “Our God is a good God” (Psalm 25:7-8; Psalm 34:8).  In God’s plan, every life is long enough and every death is timely.  And though you and I might wish for a longer life, God knows better.

I Will Fear No Evil…

The Hebrew word for “evil” includes more than moral evil; the word can be translated distress, misery, injury, calamity, and trouble.  The reality of Psalm 23:4 removes the element of fear from the life of a Christian.

When faced with crucifixion, Jesus modeled the words of Psalm 56:3, “When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.”  Tell God your fears, and be specific.  Jesus was when He prayed, “Take this cup.”  He doesn’t think your fears are foolish or silly.  He won’t tell you to “buck up” or “get tough.”  He’s been where you are.  He knows how you feel and what you need.  That’s why we punctuate our prayers as Jesus did, “If you are willing…”  Don’t measure the size of the mountain.  Talk to the One who can move it.

Consider the stoning of Stephen in Acts 7.  As the first Christian martyr, he became an exemplar for all who followed him when he said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God… Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not charge them with this sin.’ And when he had said this, he fell asleep” (Acts 7:55-60).

David grants us two important reminders that can help us surrender our fear of the grave:

1. We all have to face it.  As Hebrews 9:27 puts it, “Everyone must die one, and after that be judged by God.”  Solomon urged use to face it squarely, “We all must die, and everyone living should think about this” (Ecclesiastes 7:2).  Solomon reminds us to be honest about the inevitable.
2. We don’t have to face death alone.  As Max Lucado says, “Don’t speak of death without speaking to God.  He and He alone can guide you through the valley.”

For You Are with Me…

Did you notice the shift in David’s vocabulary?  In verse four, David speaks to God, and we listen.  With his shift to the second person, “You are with me,” the whole poem becomes much more personal.  His poem becomes a prayer. 

The Bible assures us and reassures us of the real and literal presence of the Lord in, upon, and around our lives every day.  Our instant connection to Him is prayer, and one of the simplest prayers in history is, “I will fear no evil, for You are with me.”

Silent Nights & Solitary Days

David knew the feeling of loneliness.  When Samuel the prophet asked to see Jesse’s sons, David was overlooked.  Jesse said, “I still have the youngest son.  He is out taking care of the sheep” (1 Samuel 16:11).  Jesse’s term for “youngest son” was not complimentary.  He literally said, “I still have the runt.”

Loneliness doesn’t come from being alone; it comes from feeling alone.  Feeling as if you are facing death alone, facing disease alone, facing the future alone.

The Lord is with me.  The Creator is with me.  Yahweh is with me.  As Moses said in Deuteronomy 4:7, “What great nation has a god as near to them as the Lord our God is near to us.”  Paul announced it, “He is not far from each one of us” (Acts 17:27), and David discovered it, “You are with me.”

This discovery of David is indeed the message of Scripture—the Lord is with us.  And, since the Lord is near, everything is different.  Everything!

Loneliness.  Could it be one of God’s finest gifts?  God changes your n into a v.  You go from lonely to lovely.  When you know God loves you, you won’t be desperate for the love of others. 

Dr. Robert C. McQuilkin wrote, “As I lay one day in the hospital facing an operation about which the doctors themselves had real uncertainty, I looked to the Lord for some message from His Word.  The first sentence that came to my mind was… ‘Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil.’ Those words came as the voice from heaven, a direct command that I was not to fear.”

The British writer Joseph Addison composed a quaint hymn on Psalm 23 and published it in 1712.  Entitled “The Lord My Pasture Shall Prepare”, the third stanza says:

Though in the paths of death I tread,

With gloomy horrors overspread,

My steadfast heart shall fear no ill,

For Thou, O Lord, art with me still;

Thy friendly crook shall give me aid

And guide me through the dreadful shade.