the valley

"as i walk through the valley of the shadow of death, i will fear no evil, for thou art with me" Psalm 23:4

i will try not to make this a sermon of any type, however, i feel the need to share this with those that happen to come across this blog. God is good. and i have witnessed his grace and mercy in a way that i never really thought of before. and in witnessing such, i thought of the verse above, one that i never really ponderd before. why would one be in the "valley of the shadow of death"? when you really think about it, why would one literally walk through the "valley of the shadow of death"? other versions of the bible, such as the new living translation and the new century version, refer to the valley as being dark, or even the darkest. and versions such as "the message" even refer to it as Death Valley. a valley, in it's very essence, is defined as being a low point; and more specifically, a low point surrounded by high points - hills and plains most often times surround valleys. why, why, why, would one consider walking through the darkest, deepest, lowest point they could find, not only associated with death, but also relative to the other high hills and plains around it? why would one walk through Death Valley?

my recent experiences have brought me to no answer to this enigma. and to be perfectly honesty, i doubt David, the author of this particular scripture knew either. however, what i am sure of, is that despite the utter lunacy, and stupidity needed to intentionally walk through the valley, we all, at some point or another, do just that. we see and identify the deep, dark, death valley, and we acknowledge the hills and plains that surround it, and we know that death may very well await us as we enter, but yet, we still walk through! knowing we can take the high road, knowing we can avert the path, knowing that we have the option of taking the safer route, we still walk through! knowing we may injure ourselves, knowing we may injure others, knowing that it may result in hurt, pain, suffering, strive; knowing that it may result in physical, mental, or spiritual death - we still walk through!!

the valley of the shadow of death.

i don't have to recall or account for recent experiences of mine. nor do any readers of this blog have to comment on recent or past experiences of theirs. but, if i can be vauge, i found myself in a position were i knew God was not with me. I was confident that he was not present, sure that he had not followed me into that which i knew was wrong. i was sure of it. i was torn apart. and asi knew he would not follow me into the depths of the valley, i still went. i still walked through. i walked through hoping that i could make it on my own. i walked through hoping that i could save myself if need be. knowing that i serve an omnipresent God, i was sure he was there, i was sure he was somewhat present, maybe looking down, or maybe looking from afar. but regardless of where he was, or where he could have been, i was grounded in what i knew to be fact - wherever he was, he wasn't with me.

and i failed. and i was lost. and i couldn't do anything about it.

and so, hesitantly, i prayed. i prayed because there was nothing else to do. initially, i just prayed an apology, hoping God could hear me. then, i really prayed for a way out. i prayed for a solution. i prayed for help. and to my surprise, he answered.

it's quite amazing when you think about it. how God is still there when he shouldn't be. i can't wrap my mind around it. i can't understand it for the life of me. how does God still protect us when we know we're doing wrong? how does God still bring us through when we should be left behind? how does God still support us after we've defied him, still standing for us after we've turned our back? David made the point of saying that he walks through the valley of the shadow of death. he didn't say he was placed there, he didn't day they he happened to find himself forlorn in the realm of death. on the contrary, he walked through. he had to acknowlesdge that the hills were safer, though more difficult. he had to acknowledge that the plains were safer, though more vast. he chose to walk though the valley. just as we choose to walk through the valley.

but, my God, even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death, thou art still with us. and what an awesome comfort that is. what an excellent thought that is to share.