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."
King David is the best person to write such a psalm about the shepherd and sheep
• He was a shepherd, practically from childhood (following in the footsteps of his father Jesse), all the way to young adulthood.
• He writes from experience, the relationship of a shepherd with his sheep and mirrored it to our relationship with God, the Shepherd of our life.
Today we want to look at verse 4 alone, and learn the 3 perspectives to the journey of life. David says, “Even though I walk through the valley…”
(1) Accept the reality of the valley.
Why do they need to go through valley if that’s a difficult path?
• Shepherds tell us at least once a year they will take their flock on a longer journey to the mountains.
• During spring, they will glaze in the fields nearer home while the mountaintops are still covered with snow.
• And so summer is the time to seek newer fields further away - up the hills.
• The route takes them through the valleys – it’s cooler under the summer heat, and it’s a well-watered route.
• The journey may not be easy, but it is necessary.
There will be valleys in life. Days when the sun doesn’t shine as bright, when things look gloomy and sad.
• You wish to have mountain-top kind of feeling everyday, but that isn’t real.
• You failed your exam. Your good friend turned his back on you. Your boss tells you off. Nobody seems to be bothered with you.
• Don’t be too surprised by them. Valleys are inevitable.
(1) Learn to accept the reality of the valley.
• Don’t go into self-pity, and tell yourself that you’re the only one suffering so much, everyone is happy and I’m going through a tough time.
• That day on MSN someone wrote on the personal caption – “Everyone is against me because of Christianity. I’ll burnt all the bibles and pray to Satan.”
• Don’t fall into the trap. There will be persecution and problems in life.
• Life cannot always be smooth, always this mountain-top happy feeling.
• And God is not to blame. He is innocent. In fact, He is in it with us in the valley.
• So we need to stay strong and walk on.
But we must first accept the reality of the valley - there will be difficult days and difficult times.
• Everyone will face them. Some more, some less. Some deeper, others not so deep. Some longer, some shorter. But we’ll all face them.
Listen to what Jesus said:
• Matt 5:45 “…He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”
• Jesus said, "In this world you will have trouble." (John 16:33) but before and after this, He said we can find peace in Him.
• John 16:33 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
• In order words, we are told to LOOK at Him and not the troubles.
(2) Watch how we respond in the valley.
It will either make you or break you.
Don’t focus on the valley. Focus on the Shepherd, the One who is with you.
• Declare to God your faith in Him, like David did.
• Notice in the first part of the Psalm David talks about God in the third person – He is my shepherd, He makes me lie down, He leads me, He restores my soul…
• Now in verse 4, He talks to God - "I am not afraid, because You’re with me; I am going to go through difficult journey safely because You’re here; I can feel secure because You are capable of protecting me, with the rod and staff in Your hand…”
• It’s a prayer. In the midst of difficult circumstances, fearful times, declare your victory in Christ, our faith in God.
David says “I will walk, I will not fear, and I will get through…”
• He is not “psyching” himself… He is basing it on TRUTH – He is reminding himself of the truth of God’s Word, what God has promised.
• We are to keep on walking, even thought it is difficult. Be determined to go on and not give in to fear or intimidation.
Look at David’s attitude –
he did not say, “I walk IN the valley” but “I WALK THROUGH the valley.”
• The valley is temporary. The sheep needs to go through to reach the grassland.
• 2 Cor 4:17-18 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
David was determined & confident that he’ll walk through, because of the Shepherd.
• It is a declaration of faith, not in self but in the Shepherd.
• The circumstance has not change, but he is putting his trust in God.
• This is how we ought to respond. And this response is critical to the success of the journey.
A child stood in front of his classroom to make a speech about “What I want to be when I grow up.”
He said, “I’m going to be a lion tamer in the circus. I will have lots of fierce lions.
I will walk into the cage and they will roar. And I will use the whip to control them.”
He paused for a moment, thinking through what he had just said. And then added, “But of course, I’ll have my daddy with me!”
(3) Remember Your Resources
David wasn’t really looking at the valley.
• His eyes were somewhere else, obviously, because he saw some things.
• He saw the rod and staff in the Shepherd’s hand. He must be looking at Him.
That’s where our focus must be!
• The Shepherd is capable of protecting (rod) and to help and save us (staff).
• The rod is used to fight against attacks from wild animals; the staff is to rescue, to assist the sheep.
David speaks from experience. He knew how important these tools are.
• David himself fought a lion and a bear.
• He wanted to help fight Goliath, and told King Saul –
1 Sam 17:34-36 “34 But David said to Saul, "Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35 I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear…”
David knows the power of the rod in the hands of the shepherd!
• No wonder he has the courage to fight Goliath – he knew God was with him.
• It was because of this past experiences as a shepherd – he learnt of God’s power to protect and help him – that gave him the confidence to face Goliath when the whole army hides in fear.
That’s why David starts off this Psalm declaring, “The Lord is MY Shepherd.”
• Not others, but HIS.
• All the experiences describe in this psalm are possible because of this foundational truth – the Lord is our Shepherd.
This Shepherd does not observe us from a distance.
• He is actively involved in the journey.
• With a rod and staff in His hand, He is not a passive observer.
• He is actively involved in our life. He is IN IT WITH YOU.
Sometimes when we’re going through difficulties, we asked, “Where is God?”
• Actually He is there with you, helping you through.
• Remember the “Footprints”?
You look back at your life and see two pairs of footsteps, but at the lowest point of your life, most difficult time, only one pair of footprint.
You asked, “Why did You leave me when I needed you most?” He said, “I did not leave you. You say only one pair of footprints because I carried you then.”
Bob Benson:
“When life caves in, you do not need reasons - you need comfort. You do not need some answers - you need someone. And Jesus does not come to us with an explanation - He comes to us with His presence.”
READING OF PSALM 23
A famous actor was an after dinner speaker at a big function and when he stood up to speak, he invited his audience to choose a poem for him to recite.
There was a long silence until a retired clergyman raised his hand and asked for Psalm 23.
The actor was slightly taken back, but agreed to do so provided the clergyman would recite it after him, which the clergyman reluctantly agreed to do.
The actor recited Psalm 23 and received a standing ovation. When the clergyman recited the Psalm, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.
The actor came over to the clergyman and said in front of all the guests. "Do you know the difference between his version and my version? I know the 23rd Psalm but he knows the Shepherd."
1 Pet 1:6b-7 “…though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire - may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honour when Jesus Christ is revealed.”
• God wants to build our faith in the valleys. We love the mountaintops, but we build faith in the valleys.
Recall some of the past difficult, sad moments in your life.
• You’d probably realise that you’ve learnt from them, you’ve come to trust God more; you’ve grown stronger because of them.
• That was my experience.
Philip Keller, a former shepherd, wrote in his book “A Shepherd Look at Psalm 23”:
“Often we pray or sing the hymn requesting God to make us an inspiration to someone else. We want, instinctively, to be a channel of blessing to other lives. The simple fact is that just as water can only flow in a ditch or channel or valley – so in the Christian’s career, the life of God can only flow in blessing through the valleys that have been craved and cut into our own lives by excruciating experiences.
For example, the one best able to comfort another in bereavement is the person who himself has lost a loved one. The one who can best minister to a broken heart is one who has known a broken heart.
Most of us do not want valleys in our lives. We shrink from them with a sense of fear and foreboding. Yet in spite of our worst misgivings God can bring great benefit and lasting benediction to others through those valleys.”
Conclusion
Rev 7:17 “For the Lamb at the centre of the throne will be their shepherd; He will lead them to springs of living water. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
• In order words, there will be sad times on earth, but God will wipe away EVERY tear from our eyes.
The basic question is not whether we have many or few valleys in life.
• It is not whether those valleys are dark or not so dark.
• The question is how do I respond to them? How do I go through them?
• Put your trust in the Shepherd. Rely on Him.
Even the ultimate, the greatest obstacle to life - death itself - cannot stop us.
• God has already opened the way for us in Jesus Christ, we will go through it without harm, to a better place.
• The traffic police have a road safety campaign banner that says, “You may beat the lights, but you cannot beat death.” In a spiritual sense, we BEAT it, through Christ!
• Trust Him.
