“A Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. 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. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.” – Psalms 23:1-6.
Psalms 23 can best be defined as a Psalm that truly emphasizes how God is the Great Shepherd. Showing us how He takes care of His people and leads them. Feeding us with His green pastures, restoring us by still and peaceful waters, and leading us down paths of righteousness. These are all great things and sound like sunshine and rainbows, but it is easy to overlook one crucial detail. In Psalms 23:4, it talks about being in the valley of the shadow of death. That doesn’t sound so nice, right? Well, here is the truth. In following our Shepherd, we will have times and seasons that are simply easy and wonderful, as well as times and seasons that really test us and require us to draw closer to God for our own safety and well-being. Every journey has its highs and its lows; it is how we navigate them that determines whether or not we are ready for what God has next. No one said following God would be easy; in fact, we are warned that we will face various trials.
“My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” – James 1:2-4.
Even though we will face dark valleys and lush pastures, it really doesn’t matter where we are at. We get too concerned about where we are rather than where we are in correlation to our Shepherd, God. It doesn’t matter where we are because all that matters is where we are with our Father. Are we close to Him drawing near, or are we distant, drifting away down a foggy ditch? It doesn’t matter where we are regarding fields or dark valleys. Does not the Nile River, a very rich and prosperous river, flow in the middle of a desert? Prospering isn’t about what we have, but rather if we are walking with God, for where He is, we prosper. It is with Him that we are fed, we are rested, we are refreshed, we are protected, we are nourished, we are taken care of, etc. If that isn’t prospering, then what is? Too many times, we think the only way we can prosper is with the abundance of wealth or fame, but in reality, truly prospering is walking with God, regardless of what we have or where we’re at. David, the one who wrote this Psalm, had been in some of the darkest places, such as running from Saul, having to hide in caves, dealing with the Philistines, and various other trials of his time. Yet, through it all, he prospered because he was close with God, his Shepherd. Even in the midst of his enemies and his worst mistakes, David writes in the last verse of this Psalm that the goodness and mercy of God would follow him all the days of his life, dwelling in the house of the Lord. So overall, even if you have to face the valley of the shadow of death, there is nothing to fear or worry about as long as you draw near to and walk with your Father, your Shepherd. God is the light in the darkness, and darkness is the absence of His light. Some of the areas we will enter in life are going to be dark and hard, but with God, He shines those areas up, and His faithfulness is always visible and present in those times. It is simply our job to trust God, our Shepherd, to lead us down those paths of righteousness. It is also a good time to stretch and grow as you learn to draw close and trust God on whole new levels. Don’t forget that with walking with God, your needs will be taken care of, and He is watchful to make sure that even if one of His own runs off, He will make sure He goes as far as the east is to the west to find that one.
“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!” – Luke 15:4-6.