By: Adam McClendon
Psalm 23:4: Even 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.
Sometimes the right path leads
through dark places. But,
why?
Why does God guide us through the
valley of the shadow of death? Why
does God at times allow darkness to press upon our lives like an un-tethered
anchor? Why do we experience the
dangers, pain, and pressures of life? Several possible reasons:
* Sometimes
it’s to take us to a more excellent
spiritual place, a place that we could not appreciate without having
experienced some of the darkness and depression of this life.
* Sometimes
it’s to purge us from sin.
* Sometimes
it’s to keep us close to him and keep
us from sin.
* Sometimes
it’s to be an example for
others, to better sympathize
with others, and to better encourage
others.
* Sometimes
it’s to help us identify with, and
appreciate a Savior named Jesus
who suffered the hell of this world so that we could experience heaven.
Sometimes we can go through a dark time and then we see how that
difficulty proved to be a blessing.
Other times, we can’t. We often
want to know why, yet, ultimately, we may never know why we went through the
dark valley. We often want to know
the pain we experience will go away and life will get better; however, that is
not the promise we have.
We do not follow for the temporal pleasure of this life, but
for the glory of his name. In the end, we may never know why darkness is
allowed to press in, but our confidence is that we are led for his name’s sake
and that he will use the horrors of this life for his glorious and redemptive
purpose. Yet, it seems that in
every dark valley two forces are at work.
The enemy wants to use the dark circumstances of life to create fear and
destroy our faith, while the Lord wants to use these circumstances to grow our
faith and work his beautiful plan through our lives. To which force will we give in to?
Our
fears may be real, or they may be imaginary, but the Psalmist explains that
fear is unnecessary. Why is fear
unnecessary even in the “Valley of the Shadow of Death”? Because God, the Sovereign Shepherd, is
with us. When we understand the
presence of the Sovereign Shepherd, we have peace.
It’s not just about us changing our perspective
concerning our circumstances, it’s about us understanding the presence of the
Sovereign Shepherd.
See, this passage isn’t just about
overcoming fear with the right perspective, this passage is about walking in peace
because at the end of the day, we know that the Sovereign Shepherd is with us. It’s about the presence of the
Sovereign Shepherd bringing peace to our lives when evil, whether real or
imagined, seems all around us.
If we are panicking in the midst of our trials, at the end
of the day, is it because we are not confident that God is there, that God
cares, that God is good, or that God is even able to do anything about it.
In other words, when we allow fear to settle in, we are
questioning his presence, compassion, character, or power.
Peace comes from understanding God’s
providential protection. It’s not
just that someone is with me, it’s that God the sovereign, powerful, and good
God of the universe is my Shepherd. It’s not
that we will not be attacked, it’s that nothing happens apart for the will of
our Master. Nothing slides under
his careful watch.
In darkness I do not despair
For Your presence is everywhere
In chaos and danger, I need not be fraught
For by Christ’s blood I have been bought
You are my ever present king
And so I need to fear nothing
For though through life’s clefts I go
I will not fear the fiercest foe
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