Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me…
Reflective Thought
Do you ever feel like life is hard enough to navigate even when you can see what’s going on around you? How much harder it is when everything is cloaked in darkness!
Today’s verse reminds us that we will endure stretches of life that aren’t just dark, but the darkest dark… where we live in acute awareness of the ever presence of evil and our vulnerability to it. But David, a man who’s logged a lot of miles in “darkest valleys,” makes a radical declaration: I will fear no evil. And here's why: for you are with me. For David, God’s presence was greater than any presence of evil. David knew God was with him, and it made him fearless. We can know God’s with-ness too. How? Through Jesus.
There are many names ascribed to Jesus. One that’s especially meaningful is Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23), literally meaning, “God with us.” Jesus came to earth to “dwell among us” (John 1:14). He likes our company! He endured the cross to ensure eternal with-ness with him for all who desire it.
David makes an interesting shift in this verse from writing about God (vs. 1–3) to speaking directly to God. He doesn’t write: for he is with me. Why the shift? Perhaps because David understood that when we walk through our darkest valleys, we need to experience the nearness of God unlike any other time. And it needs to be personal, not passive; intimate, not indirect; so near that there’s no space for fear to exist.
And while our Shepherd doesn’t prevent the darkest valleys, he does provide his presence and the promise that we will pass through them. In other words, valleys are part of the journey, but they’re not our destination.
Questions to Ponder
Are you in the darkest valley?
How do today’s words encourage you?
Prayer
Good Shepherd, thank you for your with-ness in my darkest valleys.
