Through the Valley...

The 23^rd Psalm has been part of my life for as long as I can remember.  I likely memorized the Golden Rule and John 3:16 first, when I was growing up in the church, but the 23^rd Psalm was the first whole Psalm that I memorized.  It’s also been a family favorite for as long as I can remember.  So it’s a Psalm that I’ve been familiar with for a long time.  It wasn’t until a few years ago that read an essay on this Psalm and had an epiphany about a specific part.  It’s verse 4.  

Here’s what it says:

Psalm 23:4 King James Version (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.

This is the King James Version.  Not one that I read very often but when it comes to the Psalms, I think it’s the single version that sounds most lyrical, and the Psalms are (after all) songs. 

As is often the case with me, when a specific verse in the Bible strikes me, I start taking it apart, phrase by phrase, or sometimes word by word.  This helps me to gather its full meaning once I “put it back together again”.  So let’s go through this particular verse.

Starting at the 4^th word:  “walk” --- When we’re walking somewhere, we have a purpose most of the time.  Walking from one room to another… walking on a path through the woods…. Walking from the car to the store.  There’s a purpose indicated here.  We’re not stopping and looking around… we’re walking – moving from one place to another. 

(Here’s what really struck me) The next word is “through”… we’re not stopping, we’re going through something.  We go through tunnels… we go through doors… we pass from one side to the other.  This indicates constant movement forward.  We’re not stopping, we’re not hesitating, we’re going through.

“the valley”… a place between two high mountains… often a place we will find streams and rivers, and towns that have sprung up around them over the years.  Metaphorically, mountains can indicate trials and tribulations, things that we have to conquer and summit.  Here we are, perhaps traveling among and between our many trials that we experience in life.  (But remember that we’re moving through them.)

“the shadow”…  Shadows can be fun (making shadow puppets, seeing our own shadow on a sunny day, sitting under the shadow of a large tree on a hot summer day)… but shadows can also be scary and foreboding (weird shadows on a dark night, shadows of something just around the corner that you don’t know what it is).  Shadows often represent the unknown, and “unknown” can be frightening. 

“death”… Sometimes referred to as “the great unknown”… and “shadow of death” would indicate that it’s something particularly dangerous to the point of causing possible death. 

Some scholars say that there was an actual valley in Biblical times that was called “The Valley of the Shadow of Death” because it was so dangerous to traverse it. 

So to recap just a bit…. We’re walking….. we’re going through something… that something is a valley of some sort, whether literal or metaphorical in nature… and it’s something particularly frightening and could be dangerous to the point of death.

Wow!  That’s pretty frightening to think about.  Kind of reminds you of what humanity is going through right now with this virus.  An unseen enemy, a danger so bad that it causes death to some.  That’s really scary!  If it were a real valley, it would be enough to make you turn around and run the other way, wouldn’t it?!

But wait… there’s more!!!!!

The very next words are “I will fear no evil”… Oh?  Why would I not fear the evil that is obviously all around me in this “valley”?  Evil is, after all, to be avoided at all costs, so we are taught.  Why would I not fear it?  Why would the sheep not fear the wolf?!

Well…. Because the Shepherd is there, right?! 

Our next worlds are “for thou art with me”. 

Here’s your “Ah-ha” moment (or it was for me)… Jesus is WITH us all the time….. He’s there when things are great.  He’s there when things are just “so so”, but He’s especially there during the rough times to comfort and protect us!  The shepherd makes sure that his sheep are safe from wolves and all predators… so too is Jesus there always to keep us safe… to comfort us, to guide us, to protect us. 

The final parts of this verse find us noticing the tools with which the shepherd will protect his flock… “thy rod and they staff, they comfort me”…  Shepherds often had two tools at their disposal to ward off wolves and other predators.  One was the famous shepherds crook, a long staff with a hook on the end, often seen in Christmas pageants.  The other was a club of some sort, here referred to as the “rod”.  So the trust we see in the shepherd is not unfounded.  There's a reason that the shepherd is trusted... because the shepherd has the tools to accomplish his job of protecting the flock.

So where do we find the reassurance and comfort in this verse?  In knowing that our Lord, Jesus Christ IS our Shepherd.  He walks with us wherever we go, in whatever circumstances we find ourselves in.  He’s there in the good times, the ho-hum times, and the frightening times.  It is also in knowing that we’re going THROUGH those times… there’s a beginning and an end (alpha and omega). 

Trying times surround us all these days.  But we are NOT alone!  Yes the “shadows” are scary, but don’t JUST notice the shadows…. Look around you…. THERE is CHRIST!

~ May the peace of Christ surround you and yours during this trying time ~

Submitted by: Jackie Garrison

Member:  Bethel UMC