David writes in 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.”
I read that the “Valley of the Shadow” is an actual place. It’s between Jerusalem and Jericho at the bottom of a canyon. The only sunlight is at noon, when the sun is directly above. Otherwise, it is filled with shadows.
It is also very narrow, with walls on both sides. There are crevices where predators could hide. It is also prone to flash floods when it rains
I don’t know if David is referring to this actual place, his point is that there are times in our life when we walk through valleys. There are these places in life where it is scary. Where you can’t see everything, where things seem like they could jump out. The “fear of the unknown,” where life could produce floods at any moment
A while back, I was listening to the radio, and one of the hosts started talking about death. He realized that he only had about 20-30 years to live. He described how that brought him a lot of anxiety.
But what does David say about it? “I will fear no evil”
Why? Why does David not fear evil?
Is it because nothing bad will ever happen to him? Is it because he will have a perfect life?
The next part gives us a clue: “for you are with me;”
David is saying that he does not need to fear evil because God is with him! It’s not that there will be no fear in life. It’s not that everything will be perfect. It’s that the shepherd will help you through the fear!
One time, when my youngest child was 4, she got out of the car, took 4 steps, then tripped and fell onto the parking lot. It turns out she had put her shoes on the wrong feet. We were in the middle of a parking lot, so I couldn’t change her shoes right there. I told her, “Hold my hand, and I will make sure you don’t fall.”
She put her little hand in mine and off we walked. Every ten steps she tripped, but with her hand in mine, she never actually fell.
Listen to what David says again: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
When encountering scary times, I want to encourage you, stick close to the shepherd! He is the only one that can truly keep us safe!