When Darkness Falls - Himalayan Heights – June 26 Readings: Psalm 23:4 – In the Valley of Death

Psalm 23: The Lord Is My Shepherd

All Scripture is God-breathed and useful, but there are some Scriptures that we can consider the Himalayan mountaintops of the Bible. In the next few months, we will be looking at a series of great texts that inspire and move us - the "Himalayan Heights" of God's Word.

Today's Reading:  Psalm 23, focus on verse 4

David was a shepherd in his early years. In this great song of praise, David considers God as his shepherd and reflects on what that means. Each verse is a gem.

Each day this week, meditate on this psalm. The highlighted potion will be our focus verse.

1  The Lord is my shepherd;

I have what I need.

2 He lets me lie down in green pastures;

he leads me beside quiet waters.

3 He renews my life;

he leads me along the right paths

for his name’s sake.

4 Even when I go through the darkest valley,

I fear no danger,

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff—they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

6 Only goodness and faithful love will pursue me

all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord

as long as I live.

Through the Bible Readings: 2 Chronicles 9-10, Acts 2:42–47, Psalm 78:1–4, Proverbs 16:2–4

If you wish to read through the Bible in a year, follow these readings. 

Devotional:  When Darkness Falls 

There is a giant cloud of dust making its way from Texas across the South and up toward the Atlantic Coast. It originated in the Sahara Desert in Western Africa, crossed the Atlantic Ocean, and is now giving fits to allergy suffers in the Eastern United States.

Makes you wonder, doesn't it? What is next in 2020? We were humming along through a relatively mild winter when we begin to hear about this virus in the Wuhan province of China, which eventually shut down the world. Then there were reports of something called murder hornets making their way into the USA. Murder hornets? Really? It seems as though every day brings a new disaster of some sort. This has been quite a year, hasn't it?

With all that is going on, with the virus and other issues, the worst things are the trials that have been going on in the lives of so many people I know. Illness. Disease. Family issues. Financial challenges and uncertainty. It has been a rough time.

The Psalmist spoke of going through the "darkest valley" - literally the "valley of deepest darkness." We know it more commonly as the "valley of the shadow of death" but the word death is not present in the original text. David was not only speaking of those times when he faced death but when he was sinking in dark waters of discouragement and depression.

David said that in those dark times he feared no danger because he knew he was not alone, not abandoned. The rod and staff of the Shepherd comforted him. The shepherd used those tools to guide the sheep. Even in our dark nights, when we are discouraged and blue, our Shepherd is guiding us with his rod and staff, leading us along to right paths to those places of quiet waters and green pastures.

When the world goes crazy, as ours has, we can depend on our shepherd. In the darkest night, he lights the way. When our hearts are heavy, he sustains us and brings joy. His rod and his staff comfort and bless us.

Small children are often afraid of the dark. I noticed, though, that they never seemed to afraid when I held their hands. They seemed to trust me to handle whatever might come. Our Shepherd is the one who holds our hands in those deep valleys of life, when darkness overwhelms us.

Father,  you are our light in the darkness, the one who takes our hands and walks us through the valley of deepest darkness. 

Think and Pray:

What does this verse say about your Christian life?