“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…”
Psalm 23:4
Take a good look at what David is saying here.
He didn’t say, “…though I walk to the valley…”
No, he clearly states, “Yea, though I walk through the valley…”
Sometimes in the midst of the darker moments in life we tend to lose our bearings on where our destination is. When things start to get tough there is the temptation to wonder if God has abandoned us in the valley moments of life. Nothing could be farther from the truth! In fact, the valley moments are the special places where we see the Lord working so clearly and faithfully through our soul and into our spirit.
As he grew up I’m sure he never imagined all the time he would spend in the valley, much less the result it would bring in his life. Raised in a family where dad had four wives, it would seem that dysfunctional would be an understatement for our guy. From early in his childhood he was traveling, not because he was touring the world but because his dad had the family fleeing his mother’s brother. Finally that uncle caught up to them and through deception they separated ways, things went from bad to worse when his mother’s health starts failing. On top of an already hard time comes more bad news when he learns that his uncle on his father’s side is now marching towards them after many years of bad blood. Not knowing what that uncle’s intentions where dad decides to send the family ahead to intercept the uncle hoping that he would have mercy on women and children. Eventually that relationship is cleared up and instead of going to meet up with his brother; dad lies again and relocates the family farther away where mom die’s en route during childbirth, when they finally settle down his sister gets raped by one of the locals of the town, enraged his two older brother’s head out on a vengeful killing spree annihilating all the men of the village. Eventually all of his older brothers get jealous of him, throwing him in an old cistern while they decide if they should kill him or sell him into slavery. Sold into slavery he gets carried away to a foreign country, works hard for many years winning favor in his masters house only to be falsely accused and thrown into jail for a crime that he didn’t commit. Finally, when he thought that he would rot in jail till his pathetic life was over. Then it happened, the Lord lead him “through” the valley and made him the second greatest man in a nation and saving the lives of an entire empire, including the brothers that treated him so horribly.
Most of us don’t have it this bad. However, we can all relate to dark times in life. We’re told in the Psalms that God lead Joseph through these valleys because in these times of testing is where his soul was made to be as iron. Sometimes we see our own lives and are convinced that the trials and testing will only devour us, but what the Lord worked in the life of Joe is also being worked into our character through our hard and hopeless times.
As sheep of the shepherd it’s important to understand that we aren’t meant to be comfortable sheep, instead He desires to have healthy and mature sheep. Maturity is only possible through the strain and pain of running into the hard and challenging moments of life. Through the instruction and gracious love of our relationship with Jesus we find our journey through the valley is a necessary route leading and preparing us for the glorious heights of intimate victory that await us .
