Images courtesy of Pixabay.
Who doesn’t love Psalm 23? For three verses it’s all smiles and peace, all dancing through flowers.
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
He leads me beside quiet waters,
He restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
We read this and we’re like, Woohoo! Christianity means I get to be happy, happy all the time! “Green pastures, quiet waters, restored soul”? Sign me up! “He guides me in paths of righteousness”? Yes please!
But then we hit verse four, and our happy dance skips a beat: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil.” Wait, what? Valleys and shadows and evil? That doesn’t sound very Psalm 23-ish. I don’t feel like dancing anymore.
We back up and read verse four again.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…
Yep, we read it right. What’s Death Valley doing in the middle of Happy Land?
How does this:
turn into this:
???
If the Good Shepherd Himself is leading us on paths of righteousness, how can we end up in the valley of the shadow of death—the dark place where evil lives? Did God’s GPS stop working? Did he abandon us mid-journey? Confused, we are tempted to hurry past verse four, eager to get to the “my cup overflows” part at the end.
But let’s pause here for a minute. Let’s take a good hard look at the phrasing, the way verse three leads into verse four (I’m using the NIV, 1984):
He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.
So we start out in verse three with God leading us. We’re cavorting down paths of righteousness. Life is good! We’re godly and happy! And then something goes wrong…or does it?
Notice that the psalm writer, David, doesn’t say, “And then we wander off the path and abandon God’s righteous ways, and that’s how we end up in the valley of the shadow of death, being punished for our sins.” No—one minute we’re following our loving Shepherd down paths of righteousness; the next we’re in the valley of the shadow of death.
Do you get what this means? Sometimes God’s righteous paths take us to the dark places. Sometimes God Himself leads us into the valley. We’re still on the path, still being righteous, still in the loving care of the Shepherd, but His righteous path is leading us where we don’t want to go—so close to death we feel its shadow.
It’s big, the valley of the shadow of death. Mile after mile of barren wilderness. The path through stretches long—no shortcuts across. The path of righteousness may wander around dark lands for days, weeks, months—even years.
Perhaps you’ve walked those dim paths before. Perhaps you’re walking them now. It goes something like this:
You’re graduating from college, faithful to God. It should be the best time in your life—the future stretching wide, so many options—but you? You have no plan. Not only are you jobless and date-less, you’re also directionless. Everyone else has a Great Life Plan—how they love revealing those plans in epic social media announcements—but you? You just feel lost. Lost and alone.
You’re sad. Endlessly sad. You don’t know why, and you can’t pull out. You pray, you work on yourself, you try to get help, but the sadness remains.
Your biological clock is sending off insistent daily alarms—BABY TIME BABY TIME BABY TIME—but every month, your own body betrays you.
Or maybe you have a family, but your family is struggling. You’ve tried to instill faith in your kids, but they’re fighting you, fighting God.
In times like this, fear rises. Confusion reigns. You start doubting God, doubting yourself: What did I do wrong? Is God mad at me? Does this suffering mean I’m being punished? Did I accidentally wander off the path of righteousness?
Psalm 23 says no. God says no.
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There is more to Christianity—and life—than quiet naps by gentle streams. There’s deep comfort for dark times. Living under our Shepherd’s protection and care doesn’t mean we will never wait, never suffer, never experience disappointment, decay, or delay. God doesn’t promise us an escape from hardship; He promises to guide and protect us as we go through hardship, all the way to the other side. No matter how dark the path. No matter how long the journey. That’s the real message of Psalm 23.
The more I think about this truth, the more beautiful this psalm becomes. Because who lives beside quiet waters all the time? Who experiences a life of constant peace and endless blessing? Not me! Sometimes I have, sometimes I do, but not always. Not today.
Psalm 23 doesn’t promise a life of never-ending peace and happiness; it promises strength and help and hope through all life’s ups and downs. We have a Shepherd who loves us and meets all our needs. He knows when we need rest, and He knows how to provide it. And when He leads us down into the valley, He does not leave us alone. His rod and staff—His presence—are there to comfort and guide us all along the way.
We may have times when we’re wandering, but we’re not wandering alone. We may have times when we’re sad, but we’re not sad alone. We may have times when we’re waiting, but we’re not waiting alone.
He is for us, He is with us, and if we will just keep to the righteous path, He will guide us all the way across the valley, however long it takes. Eventually, He will help us find our footing as the path climbs back up the mountainside. We may be out of breath when we reach the top, homesick and road-weary, but He’ll urge us to rest beside a bubbling mountain stream. He’ll ask if we’d like some water, and we’ll hold out our cup and say, “Yes please.”
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Your Dad totally agrees with you!
After well over four decades of walking with God, I can confirm from my own experience that you are right on target here. Jesus said it this way: “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart, I have overcome the world!” Jn 16:33 – Our Shepherd takes us through this world with its joys – and with its lions and bears. Praise him for his love and grace, and may we never stop letting HIM be our Shepherd!
Beautifully put, as always, Dad! Love you so much! xoxo
Elizabeth, God has given you a beautiful gift with words. I subscribe to your blog and LOVE every new post. Thank you for this one. It brings such comfort and peace, and helps me look at my Shepherd with refreshed faith and endurance. Thanks again!
Thank you so much, Sharon! You just made my day. I’m so glad this was an encouragement to you!
Hi Liz.
Greetings from Zimbabwe
This is my first time to see your articles. I got to them through Jeannie Shaw’s link on Monday Encouragements.
I would love to go through your articles with my 18 year old daughter. She is a great girl, graduating from high school next month. I feel this will help us have fun ways to connect with God.
For her to have her own relationship with God, so she becomes a baptised disciple.
As for me, for the past two to three years, I have been going through a very long, wide valley with depression, chronic conditions of gastritis, high cholesterol and intense menopause hormonal disorders. Currently, I am still in a metal neck brace after a major neuro-surgeon, to de-compress a nerve from a spinal disc. So this has been a refreshing encouragement from God, through you.
So thank you ever so much.
Hi Barbra–welcome to Lizzy Life! It’s great to meet you! Wow, you have gone through a very difficult season. I’m glad this ministered to you, and I pray you experience a new season of better health and greater peace and joy this year. I am praying for you now!
Bingo. You nailed it. When my Christian husband of 19 years left me to pursue the world five years ago, I initially felt like God had deserted me too. But walking through the valley gives us the unique opportunity to sidle up next to God, let him wrap his cloak around us, and guide us on the safest route. I firmly believe if I had not seen my valley as God’s tool for winnowing my heart, I would not have been in a position to forgive my husband when he repented and returned. I don’t think we can fully appreciate the soothing peacefulness of quiet waters until we’ve suffered the drought of the desert.
Oh Kim, what a story, and what an amazing attitude you had—and have! Your example inspires me, and I’m sure God is using your heart and story to encourage others going through heartbreak and betrayal, to help them protect their hearts and find healing as you have. And you are so right—much as we hate to admit it, we can’t fully appreciate times of peace until we’ve truly suffered. The more severe the drought, the more precious the peace when it comes. Thank you for sharing your story! -xoxo
thanks Elizabeth for sharing, I am amaze how Dad (God) works, I read this scripture so many times, walk through valley of death my eyes usually glance over that verse (I didn’t want the holy spirit to reveal what means) especially when I going through challenging time. I appreciate you sharing
I know the feeling, wanting to read past the hard verses about suffering! Thanks for reading. xoxo