“Yea Though I Walk Through the Valley…” Psalm 23:4

“Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for You are with me, Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me”.  This statement marks the halfway stage in this Psalm.  It is best to remember at this point that the flock is entirely alone with the shepherd, both day and night.  David would have been high up in the hills tending to his father’s flock.  He would have known of all the difficulties and dangers, as well as the delights of the treks through the valleys into the high country.  He was fully prepared to safeguard his flock and tend them with skill under whatever circumstances.

You may have at some point experienced a mountaintop experience and felt very sublime.  It’s interesting to note in this verse that; “though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death’, it does not say I die there or stop there- but rather “I walk through”.  Death is but the dark valley opening out into an eternity of delight with God.  Our Good Shepherd knows this.  Maybe you have watched a loved one whose body has been destroyed by cancer, Alzheimer’s, or some other disease.  Gently, you allowed them to pass through the valley of death being fully aware of Christ’s presence,

The disappointments, the frustrations, the discouragements, and the difficult days, though they are shadowed valleys, don’t need to be disasters.  They can be the road to higher ground to our walk with God.  We must remember to thank Him as we discover that He was there with us in our distress.  Intimately knowing Him makes our lives more bearable.  Most of us do not want valleys in our lives but don’t try to avoid the dark things, the distressing days.  They may well prove to be the way of greatest refreshment.  Our Good Shepherd knows all of this as He leads us through the valleys with Himself.

Pastor Chuck Swindoll had this to say in one of his books; “Even the valley of the shadow of death is illuminated with God’s promises and God’s presence”.  Yes, there are going to be some valleys in each of our lives that may be difficult to trek through, but Jesus, our Good Shepherd assures us “In this world you will have trouble, but take heart!  I have overcome the world” John 16:33. We can trust God that He is always with us.  We no longer need to worry about it because of His faithfulness and saving grace.  David was so confident in God that he said, “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.”  That must be our confidence, as well.