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The Valley of the Shadow of Death – That’s Reward

 Psalms 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.”

Tony Cooke writes in his book, Because the Lord is My Shepherd, “The 23rd Psalm is loved for so many reasons, but it is perhaps the fourth verse that causes it to be such a source of comfort during the most traumatic and difficult times of life. While this psalm vividly portrays God’s comfort and support, it does not ignore the hard realities of human existence. Rather, David’s words show us the power and care of a Shepherd whose influence penetrates and transcends even the worst that life can throw at us.”[i] 


A believer is not exempt from the challenges of life. The Psalmist David writes in Psalm 34:19, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.” The good news in Psalms 23:4 is “though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.” Our great shepherd promises to lead us through this valley. The Apostle Paul writes in I Corinthians 4:17, “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”


In times of fiery trials and in the hard places we walk through in our journey of faith we have the promise of His presence. Psalms 23:4 says, “For you are with me.” Jesus spoke these powerful words in Matthew 28:20, ““teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” We have this promise in Hebrews 13:5, “For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”


David continues in Psalms 23:4, “I will fear no evil.” As I pass through chaotic times, I do not have to be afraid. Psalms 56:3 says, “Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You.” We are living in what the Apostle Paul described as “perilous times.” Jesus described our days in Luke 21:25-26, “And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men’s hearts failing them from fear and the expectation of those things which are coming on the earth, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken.”


How do we navigate fearful chaotic times? We stand in faith on the promise of Psalms 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.”

 


[i] Cooke, Tony, Because the Lord is MyShepherd, Harrison House, Shippensburg, PA, page 47.

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