WALKING THROUGH THE DARK VALLEY Portrait of the Good Shepherd Message Series: Part 4. Scripture Reading: Psalm 23 Text: Psalm 23:4

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1 WALKING THROUGH THE DARK VALLEY Portrait of the Good Shepherd Message Series: Part 4 Scripture Reading: Psalm 23 Text: Psalm 23:4 Alexander Maclaren, the famed Scottish preacher of several generations ago, tells the story of harrowing experience he had as a young teen. He got his hired for his 1st summer job working in the city of Glasgow, several miles away from his home town. The plan was to stay in the city all week and to return home late Friday night after dark. Only one problem, between Glasgow and his house was a long, deep ravine that was considered by many to be haunted with ghosts and evil spirits. During that first week on the job, all young Alex could think about was having to cross that ravine at night, on foot, by himself. Friday night finally came. And there was nothing to do but muster up the courage for this long, scary walk home. As he entered the ravine, his heart began to pound, his palms began to sweat, and his feet felt like lead. He took step after frightening step until he was surrounded by darkness and eerie sounds. Suddenly out of the darkness came a familiar voice, Alex, it s your dad. I ve come to walk with you through the ravine. Those words meant the world to young Alex. Years later he never forgot the courage and strength he felt that night when his father suddenly appeared to walk through the frightening ravine with him. King David felt that same way about God who walked with him, every step of the way, through the valley of the shadow of death. The presence of the Good Shepherd brought David courage and confidence even in the darkest of times. He speaks about this in Ps. 23. So if you will turn again in your Bibles to this Psalm (p. 415). In our series entitled Portrait of the Good Shepherd we come this morning to vs. 4. As one of the more familiar vss. in the Bible, let s read that vs. together again in unison. Under the theme Walking Through the Dark Valley we begin by taking a look at What This Valley Represents. For David, it represented many actual valleys that he had shepherded sheep through in his younger days. Because of the huge elevation changes within Israel -- deep ravines, narrow canyons, ragged rocks, and towering cliffs are a common sight. Some of those canyons are so steep and deep that the sun only hits the bottom when it is directly overhead at noon. Otherwise the bottom is always in the shadows. Now a shepherd knows that often grassy

2 areas can be found on the floor of these steep-walled canyons. But it s quite a arduous journey to reach the valley floor. Here are a couple of pictures I took of our tour group hiking down one of these wadis or ravines. Quite a foreboding place. As you descend into this god-forsaken territory, you start to wonder if you re going to make it out alive. Then you reach the bottom. And as the ground levels off, wa-lah: green grass, shrubs, trees, shade, and water. As we mentioned last week, shepherds knows where the green pastures and quiet waters are. It s just that getting there may have involved traveling thru a deep, dark valleys. Foreboding places where rock slides, flash flooding, and hungry predators are an ever-present threat. David uses the phrase the valley of the shadow of death as a metaphor to refer to the tough times he endured. Even today, going thru the valley means experiencing the disappointments and discouragements of life. Dark, difficult days that make us want to pack it in and quit. Dark valleys are hard, painful, lonely places. They re life-draining and exhausting. Some are downright terrifying. Experiencing a divorce, a long-term illness, the loss of a job, the break-up of a friendship, being victimized or abused. Any significant defeat, failure, or loss qualifies as a valley. Now we may pass thru many such valleys in life on the way to the final one: death itself. David clearly had in mind more than just life s trials & tribulations when he penned these words. He was also thinking about facing the last great enemy called death. Does having the Lord as your Good Shepherd make any difference when facing the end of your life here on earth. According to David, it makes all the difference in the world. Secondly, What We Need to Remember While in We are in the Valley? One thing we need to remember is that Valleys Are Inevitable and Impartial. They are going to happen. They are simply part of life in a broken world. You are either in a valley right now, just coming out of one, or just about to enter one. Even though we wish it weren t so, valleys can t be avoided. I love the old Peanuts cartoon strip where Lucy says to Charlie Brown, Sometimes I get discouraged. Charlie philosophically responds, Well Lucy, life does have its ups and downs, you know. Lucy objects by saying But why should it? Why can t my life be ups and ups? Like Lucy, we wish that life only consisted of good times. But in between the mountain top experiences in life, are many valleys ranging from minor disappointments to major lifechanging tragedies. And no one is immune to them. No one gets to skate thru life problem-free. No one is insulated sickness, suffering, or sorrow. Another thing we need to remember is that Valleys Are Temporary. Notice that David doesn t say, Even though I dwell in the valley ; but rather walk thru the valley. A valley is not

3 something we settle down in, but something we journey thru. It s not a permanent condition, but a passage way, a transitional zone in life. There is an end to the valley. It doesn t last forever. At least for those who claim the Lord as their Shepherd. Valleys don t come into your life to stay. They come to pass. They are for a season. For the child of God, there may be dark tunnels we pass thru, but there is always a light at the end of it. We also need to remember that Valleys Are Purposeful God has His reasons for taking you thru them. In I Pet. 1:6-7 we read, In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith of greater worth than gold may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Valleys are not accidents. God uses them to build our character and our faith. In spite of the pain and danger inherent in a valley, the Good Shepherd knows that it is still the best way to take his flock to where they need to be. Thirdly, we take a look as What We Need to Do While in the Valley. First, Refuse to Give Into Fear or Discouragement. David says, Even though I walk thru the valley of the shadow of death, [even though life is tough and I face challenges on every side] I will fear no evil. That is, I will remain calm and confident. Now that takes faith doesn t it? To not run panicking and screaming, but to walk calmly, confidently through the storm. David says here, I will That little word will implies a choice. I will chose to not allow fear to paralyze or incapacitate me. Instead I will follow God s command, Fear not. The good news is that although we can t avoid the valleys of life and must go through it; we don t have to be paralyzed by them. To quote Philip Keller in his book A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, There is a grandeur, a quietness, an assurance that sets the soul at rest. [To be able to say,] I will not fear for you are with me in every dismal disappointment, in every distressing dilemma. Notice that the Good Shepherd does not ridicule our fears, but instead He walks with us thru the valley to overcome our fears. That leads to the 2 nd thing I am to do while in the valley. I can refuse to give into my fears, precisely because I Know That God is with Me. Just as when the clouds hide the sun from our sight, yet we know the sun still shines. So too, the darkness of the valley can be so dense and intense, that we can t see God or feel His presence. Yet, by faith we know He s always there. With vs. 4, David makes a strategic language change in this Psalm. Up until this point, he speaks about the Good Shepherd in 3 rd person pronouns: He makes me lie down. He leads me

4 beside. He restores my soul. But with vs. 4, David shifts to personal pronouns: You are with me. Your rod and staff, they comfort me. This language change reflects a greater level of intimacy and closeness with the Good Shepherd. When I m going thru tough times, I don t just want to talk about God. I want to talk to Him. I want to know that He is real, is close to me, and hears my cry. Suddenly religion becomes a relationship -- one that I am desperately leaning on to make it thru. Friends, ask any mature believer, and they will tell you that the times they were brought closest to God were in the valleys of life. God s presence in tough times offers us a comfort, an assurance, a peace that can t be found anywhere else. He is never more present than when we are in the valley. Let these words from Scripture wash over you & assure of our His comforting, strengthening presence in the midst of the storm. Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Hebrew 13:5 where God says, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you. Or Jesus himself who said, And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age. (Matt. 28:20). Jesus can promise us His abiding presence, because He himself walked thru the valley of the shadow of death. He experienced Godforsakenness, desolation and death on the cross -- so that those who believe in Him don t ever have to go through the valley alone. Just as our opening story demonstrated, the presence of a loving father made all the difference for young Alex as he went thru the dark & scary ravine; so too, the presence of a loving heavenly Father makes all the difference as we go thru the dark and scary valleys of life. Let s watch a video that instructs us on the value of the shepherd s presence with his sheep. The Good Shepherd promises to be there with you in ever valley, walking by your side to comfort, encourage, and protect you, leading you safely through to the other side. Because of His powerful and abiding presence, we have nothing to fear. Finally when we are in the valley we are to Trust That God Will Protect and Rescue Me. When Middle-Eastern shepherds took his flock out into the back country, there were at least two essential supplies they always took with them: a rod and staff. A shepherd s rod was a short, wooden club. Sort of like a billy club or bat -- about 3 feet in length. The shepherd used this rod to beat back any wild animals that were threatening the sheep. He also learned to throw it with amaze speed and accuracy -- again to ward off predators. A shepherd s rod was a symbol of protection. Although the valley was a scary place, the sheep knew that in their shepherd, they had a strong defender in whom they could trust. Now a shepherd s staff was a bit different. It look like this. It was longer and thinner than the rod with a crook or hook on one end. A staff

5 was used for several purposes: with it, the shepherd would tap the side of a sheep that had veered off track, gentling guiding it back on course. He would also use the staff to rescue a sheep that had fallen into a narrow ravine or to extricate a sheep that had been caught by its wool in a thicket. Either way, the staff represents deliverance or rescue from a jam. It too was a source of great comfort for the sheep. Thru these two images of the rod and staff, David is saying that his God, his Good Shepherd, has the power to protect him from the enemy and rescue him from danger. No wonder the hymn writer Fanny Crosby could say, All the way my Savior leads me, What have I to ask beside? Can I doubt His tender mercy, Who thru life has been my Guide? Heav nly peace, divinest comfort, Here by faith in Him to dwell! For I know, whate er befall me, Jesus doeth all things well; All the way my Savior leads me, Cheers each winding path I tread Gives me grace for every trial, Feeds me with the living Bread. Though my weary steps may falter; And my soul athirst may be, Gushing from the Rock before me, Lo! A spring of joy I see. Friends, when you find yourself in a valley, nothing comforts, nothing reassures, nothing strengthens like knowing that you have a Good Shepherd who is with you and for you all the way. So when the bottom drops out of our lives and we have nothing left but God, we discover that He is enough