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"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."
(Psalm 23:4)
This week, I am writing about the things God has been showing me lately. Much of my ministry, like many pastors and authors, is dedicated to what you can call "content creation". For years now, every day of the week, I have had new content being published, either through a preached sermon, a written devotion, or a recorded podcast episode. I enjoy all of this, but it was nice to slow down and give my brain a break over the last six weeks. Reflecting on that time, I am grateful for the truths God impressed upon me. The first, which we discussed Monday and yesterday, is that He is always good, no matter what my circumstances are. The second thing the Lord has been showing me is how important it is to stay in the Word of God and prayer.
It is easy to pray and read the Word when life is going great but harder when you are under fire, struggling, or extremely busy. The times when you do not feel like praying and reading the Bible are the very times when you need to do it the most! There have been days recently that I have read and prayed, not because I wanted to, but because I knew it was the right thing to do. As Bruce Leafblad said, the duty becomes a delight, and that has been so true in my life.
King David knew what it was like to walk through the valley of the shadow of death. He came close to dying a few times while on the run from the madman, King Saul. David also walked through some difficult valleys when his infant son died. But instead of turning away from God, he chose to lean into God and find his strength and refuge in the LORD God Almighty.
David made a conscious effort to not fear. He declares that he will fear no evil of any variety. One of the strongest temptations you will face in your walk with the Lord is the temptation to feed your fears instead of feeding your faith. We all have fearful and frightening events happen to us. In those times, we have a choice to make. We can do what David did and choose not to fear and trust God, or we can go the easier way and be enveloped in fear and choose to not trust God. God is for you, and when you feel tempted to despair in your spiritual battles, open up the Word of God and pray!
Psalm 23:4 also teaches us that God is near to us in the valleys of life. "For You are with me." Let that truth soak deep into your soul. Did you need to hear this today? I needed it in my own life. No matter what happens, God is near me, and He lives in me through His Holy Spirit.
Finally, this verse teaches us that God's rod and staff comfort us in our hard times. As we read His Word and talk to Him, yes, even when we do not feel like it and everything within our old carnal nature screams at us not to do it, we choose to do it anyhow! I do not remember a lot of Hebrew syntax, but I do recall the grammatical Piel construction of this verse in Psalm 23, and a good translation of this part of the verse is, "Your rod and Your staff, they really comfort me."
Many of you are walking through an awful ravine, a dark night of the soul. God will see you through. Do not run away from Him, but choose to go to Him by reading His Word and talking to Him about how you feel. Read Psalm 23 slowly and meditate on its truth. God will come through; it is only a matter of time.
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