The Valley of the Shadow of Death

“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.” - Psalm 23:4

Now, this is the part that we don’t want. This is the part of the journey that makes us doubt. This is where many well-meaning Christians fall away. 

But as faithful sheep, we can walk confident in our Shepherd. No matter the darkness we face, we can know that we are safe in the care of our Good Shepherd because He promises to stay with us.

The path of righteousness leads into the valley of the shadow of death. It’s going to get dark. Things are going to get hard. People will leave and things will fall apart. 

But notice that it’s not called the “valley of death,” but the “valley of the shadow of death” because death has been defeated and only its shadow remains. 

A shadow can only exist in the presence of the light. Think about it, to have a shadow, you must have a source of light shining on an object. So the presence of the shadow of death testifies also to the presence of the light of Christ!

Jesus has conquered death and promised that we will follow in His footsteps. So as dark as it gets, we have the light of hope in Jesus Christ. Even when you hear the whispers of death, you can be assured that it won’t win. 

“He reveals the deep things of darkness and brings utter darkness into the light.” - Job 12:22

“Even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.” - Psalm 139:12

In our dark valley, we find comfort in the rod and staff of God. These are tools used for discipline and support, correction when we stray. They keep us on the path. 

It sounds counter-intuitive. We don’t typically pair discipline and comfort in the same sentence. Discipline is never fun, but it’s necessary.

“Whoever spares the rod hates their children, but the one who loves their children is careful to discipline them.” - Proverbs 13:24

Since becoming a parent, my view on discipline has become so much more clear. I know think of discipline as gutter guards when you go bowling. It might hurt when you hit them, but they’re keeping you in the lane to reach the goal. The pain of bumping into the gutter guard is a lot less that the despair of falling in the gutter and missing the pins altogether.

…That may not be a perfect analogy, but I pray you see the point and the heart behind it!

You who are parents know how deeply you love your children and how it hurts to discipline them. We don’t relish in their tears or laugh at their pain and neither does God. We discipline out of love to protect them from their own sinful tendencies and do everything we can to keep them on the right path. 

If we, as imperfect humans can do that for our children, how much more our perfect God?

Though no discipline is enjoyable in the moment, we can be comforted to know that God disciplines us as a loving Father disciplines His son. It’s an assurance of the closeness of our relationship with Him.

“No discipline seems enjoyable at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” - Hebrews 12:11