From the Pastor:
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.
In the hill country
of Judah there were deep valleys known as “wadis”. These valleys were dried out
river beds that were difficult to navigate not only because of their topography, but also because they were dark areas that let in little light. Due to
this fact they became a place where dangerous people would lurk, or sometimes
they would be a place for dangerous animals to lay in wait for unsuspecting prey.
At other times sudden rains may lead to them becoming flashflood areas filling
quickly with rushing water. None of these scenarios present us with a pretty
picture of the valley David begins this next section of the Psalm with. Yet,
this is the very point the Psalmist is trying to make.
Last week we saw
how the Good Shepherd goes to great lengths to care for His sheep. The LORD
nourishes His sheep with exactly what they need when they need it. It’s a beautiful
picture of God’s love and tenderness for His children. However, verse four
takes a turn to another very important reality of life in a fallen world. It is
not all rainbows and rose gardens. Life in a fallen world can lead to danger
and loss at any time. Whether problems come from natural disasters, acts of violence,
or simply the results of bad decision making; our lives can change moment to
moment in all of the situations. That fact has hit many of us very hard in this
last year. This pandemic has been another reminder of the frailty of human life
in this fallen world. “For the wages of sin is death…” (Romans 6:23a) Perhaps,
you did not need Covid-19 to remind you of that fact, yet for many it seems to
have come for that very reason. We are not entitled to or guaranteed from God
one more breath than what He has ordained for us. He has numbered our days from
the end to the beginning, and all that He has ordained is right.
However, the purpose
of the Psalmist in contrasting this hard reality to the joys of the previous
scene are not to scare us, but to assure us that even in the dark times and in
the dark valleys our LORD is with us. The Good Shepherd NEVER abandons His
sheep. As a matter of fact, our Great Shepherd became the sacrificial lamb on behave
of His sheep, suffered death, and defeated death through the resurrection so
that they do not have to fear death. The Psalmist may not have had the fullness
of the Gospel in view when he penned these words, but he trusted God enough to
know that even in the hard times the Lord was with him. In David’s life he has
faced bears, lions, and even a giant! Yet, he always trusted that the Lord was
with him, shepherding him as David shepherded the sheep of his father’s flock.
That is reality the Psalmist is pointing us towards.
No matter where we
go in this world, if you are a child of God, the Good Shepherd is ALWAYS with
you. In life and even in death the Lord is with you. You will not have to cross
Jordan alone! You will not have to face any earthly tragedies alone. The Lord
is always there to comfort and guide you every step of the way. His Word is
there to nourish our souls and His Spirit is there to comfort us, just as the
rod and staff of a shepherd guides and protects the sheep. Oh, believer, please
be assured as you read this that God is with you. He will never leave or forsake
you. He will never abandon you. He will walk with you through all of life’s
valleys and He will bring you safely home in the end. I pray that you are
comforted and strengthened by these words this week. God bless you and may His
peace rest upon you. Amen.
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