Psalm 23:4 KJV
[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.
About a year and a half ago I was walking in the dark (something I am very much not fond of doing). I was out in the middle of nowhere in the country walking down a dirt road. So it was pitch black. And this scripture repeated over and over in my mind and I knew the Lord was trying to show me something. Because He was the One who told me to walk out there knowing full well I did not want to do it.
Walking through “the valley of the shadow of death”… A scripture I had heard so often I didn’t realize how little I understood it.
But the Lord started to show me that when you’re walking through a valley, that means higher ground is somewhere near. Because that’s what creates the valley.
And if you’re walking through a shadow, the thing casting the shadow must also be near.
Here is where I began to see that walking through the valley of the shadow of death meant that death had the high ground. Fighting battles from the low ground is generally not where you want to be.
But in this passage David is expressing his extreme trust in the Lord’s ability to protect him from evil and knowledge that the Lord will comfort him when he needs it.
As time has passed the last few years, I have leaned on the Lord to rescue me out of darker pits than I could have ever imagined I would find myself in and to comfort me daily if not hourly as we walk together through this.
When we walk through perilous times and we see the creeping shadow of death and evil come upon our lives, we can have confidence knowing our Lord Jesus Christ ALWAYS maintains the high ground.
He is the Lord of the mountains and the Lord of the valleys. And while I MUCH PREFER the mountaintops…
It is in the valleys He carries me when I can no longer walk. It is in the valleys I witness the saving redeeming power of my Savior and His ENORMOUS LOVE.
He IS near to the brokenhearted. He DOES see all that is done. He wants NO ONE to perish. That’s why we know the cross as the symbol of His great love.
And as we walk through dark times, whether as individuals, nations, or the world in its entirety, one thing is certain…
YOU, JESUS, are with us.
And because of You I can have boldness and confidence.
Even if You’re still carrying me through my greatest darkness.
