“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…” Psalm 23:4 KJV
When we enter trials, it can feel like the “shadow of death” is upon us. We often cannot see the end or know the forthcoming events. That is why we are called to walk by faith, not sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7) We only need faith to believe and know God will see us through. The person who enters the “shadow of death” experience and walks by faith will come forth as a different person because of the refining process.
There are realistic fears when entering the valley of the “shadow of death.” Fears so dark we question whether we will ever make it through. Remember, these experiences are only a shadow. As Christians, these shadows we experience in the valley have no hold or power over us, not even death itself.
Are you in the “valley of the shadow of death” today? Are you experiencing something where you cannot see the end or are afraid to move ahead? Let’s walk through these fears and find comfort in the Word of God to confidently move forward by faith through our “shadow of death” experiences.
DARKNESS
We often desire to live on the mountaintop, — where we can laugh, sing, and praise the Lord. Soon, we hear our Good Shepherd calling us to follow Him. We take one last look at the beauty surrounding us as we venture down the side of the mountain. We think we are headed toward another green pasture; therefore, we follow Him confidently.
While watching our Shepherd, we suddenly glance at a dark valley in the distance. We cannot fathom that it would be our valley to walk through as dangerous, violent, tempestuous clouds quickly gather overhead. Our Good Shepherd walks into that valley, nearly disappearing in the darkness. We have a choice to make. Will we follow Him or try to find another way? We know He is trustworthy; He has proven Himself before and always leads in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.
We hesitantly take our first step forward by faith. Gently, we feel our Good Shepherd’s hand join ours while He whispers Isaiah 41:10 KJV, “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” A calmness comes over our soul as we speak Psalm 23:4 KJV, “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.” His presence and the protection of His rod and staff reassure us that He will fight for and deliver us from evil. We recall promises from His word, as they guarantee illumination to our feet. (Psalm 119:105) Mixed emotions fill our souls, and Our Good Shepherd tenderly speaks comfort from Joshua 1:9.
He is never too far ahead but always close by with a word to cheer our faint hearts. Even with His promises at the forefront of our minds, we still have questions. When will it end? When will there be complete light to see all around us again? As we walk further into the valley and the thick darkness, we cry to the Lord, saying, “How much longer, O Lord?” Moses met God in thick darkness, and Solomon said God dwells in thick darkness. (Ex. 20:21, I Kings 8:12). We continue one step at a time because we know the Good Shepherd’s presence is in the thick darkness, even if invisible.
DESPAIR
The longer we are in our valley, our fleshly heart begins to despair. We long to hear His voice as we did upon entering the valley. Was He still with us? We pray to Him Psalm 83:1 KJV, “Keep not thou silence, O God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, O God.”
Our Good Shepherd breaks the silence, assuring us that He is the God of hope from Romans 15:13. He knows we desire the end of the trial. He calmly speaks Isaiah 55:8-9 KJV, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” We cannot walk with human reasoning when following Him, nor desire to see the design of His plan with human eyes.
The valley allows us to know our Good Shepherd more personally. We recall the purpose of our trials from James 1:2-4. Though our trial seems long, we do not need to have despair in our hearts. We do not need to know the purpose of the trial or lose hope, for it is the glory of God to conceal a thing. (Proverbs 25:2) Taking a moment to rest, the Good Shepherd meets us where we are, extending grace and a word of hope from Romans 8:28. We have faith to believe our Good Shepherd is with us in the sunshine, but our faith is wise and discerns Him also in the terrible darkness and threatening storms. There is a sweet assurance that we will never be alone. God’s peace will keep our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Truly, we are loved with an everlasting love, and He will see us through this valley, giving us His hope to endure.
DEPENDENCE
We soon realize something is beginning to change in us. We feel less self-dependent. A more profound dependence on the Lord is resurrected in our hearts, along with a forsaking of all but Him. Through the eyes of faith, we have seen how He has tenderly walked with us. We fix our hearts on Him and cry out the truth of Isaiah 40:28-29. The moments in the valley when He did not grow weary or faint but often extended it to us, reminding us of His everlasting strength, power, and dependability. He never took a nap or rested, yet each step along the way gave us power and strength.
Again, we rise as a soldier of Jesus Christ to endure hardness for His sake. Our Good Shepherd calls us to move forward; we press on toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, (Philippians 3:14) one step at a time, leaning on His everlasting arms.
DEATH
Continuing our journey, we have moments to think of past times when we entered other valleys and saw God bring us through. Death had brushed past us as a shadow but had always left us unharmed by His providence. All our experiences are only a shadow of what will eventually come: death itself. Death was meant to destroy and eternally separate us from God. Yet, we have victory over death through the blood of Jesus Christ when we know Him as our personal Savior. The valley where we walk seems to become darker than ever before, yet still faithfully shining at our feet is the path we are to walk. We know one day, we will face our appointed time of death. Often, we may question if this is the valley that will usher us into eternity. Fears are quickly dispelled as we know 2 Timothy 1:7. We have walked with our Good Shepherd long enough to know what He thinks of us and His ultimate desire found in Jeremiah 29:11. Even though death may be imminent, our Good Shepherd came to save sinners no matter how dark the valley appears. He came to give a promise, which we find in Luke 1:79 KJV, “To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
At one time, we spiritually sat in darkness with no hope. Yet He gave us light to guide our feet into the way of peace—a reconciled relationship with God. Though our valley is a storm like no other, we can always thank the Good Shepherd for laying down His life so that we might live eternally with Him. We rejoice at the victory He gives us over death in I Cor. 15:52-58.
Eventually, we see a greater light and walk out from our valley to see and feel the sun again. We thank the Lord for His faithfulness. We praise Him for His goodness and what we were able to learn and experience. We give testimony to others of what we learned about our Good Shepherd.
Conclusion:
Growing as a Christian, we know another valley is around the corner, but we know our Good Shepherd well enough to know He will see us through to the other side. When the time comes to face another valley, we must remain faithful, continually whispering to our soul Psalm 23:4 kjv, “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.” We will come through the valley refined here on earth or be ushered into His presence, but either way, we can confidently say,” God led me all the way through the valley of the shadow of death.”
