“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.” (Psalm 23:4)
The great Shepherd psalm of David is the most familiar chapter in the Bible. It is loved by Jews, Catholics and all the shades and grades of Protestants. Psalm 23 is the greatest description ever written of what the relationship between God and man can be.
After declaring that his God makes him lie down in green pastures and leads him beside still waters David also declares there to be times when he finds himself in a valley that is so dark it is like the shadow of death. However, he is comforted by the staff of his Shepherd. He is referencing the confidence he has in the ability of his Shepherd to lead him through that valley, not just to that valley.
He is also comforted by the rod of his Shepherd. The rod of a shepherd was a defensive weapon used to keep predators away from the sheep. David is saying here that he has great confidence in the ability of his Shepherd to protect him from anything he might encounter in that valley.
The bottom line is that David knows his Shepherd God can not only lead him to a valley but through that valley.
Are you in a valley right now? If you are, realize your Shepherd God wants to lead you through that valley. Trust His perfect ability to lead and protect you all the way through your valley.
Faith nearly always involves choices. The choice is yours. So, which is it going to be? Is it going to be “To it, or through it?”
Through it!!
good words, Dick! This is balm in our present crisis with our granddaughter!