PSALM 23 – A Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. “

THEME OF THE DAY:  THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH. Today’s passage is likely the most familiar and beloved Psalm of all the Psalms.  It has comforted and encouraged God’s people throughout history.

As one reads the Psalm, notice where the Psalmist says his walk with the Lord occurs.  It isn’t in flowery beds of ease nor the tranquility of a trouble-free, and trial-free life. It is experienced in the valley of the shadow of death.

So, where is this valley of the shadow of death? It isn’t laying in a hospital bed nearing the end of life.  Nor is it in the last days of an elderly person who has lived many years and now the sun is setting quickly on life. No, the valley of the shadow of death is every day in this world for each of us. Each day we wake up, we do so in the valley of the shadow of death. This is the reality of life in a sin-cursed world surrounded by death, and it is also the reality that none of us know the day when death visits us. It could be today. It could be before I finish this nugget. It could be next week, year, or maybe years from now, but unless Jesus returns, we will finish our walk through the valley of the shadow of death meeting what caused such a shadow – death itself.

When it comes to living the Christian life, thinking often of death is not a morbid thought.  It is a motivating thought, a right thought, a good thought, and does two things in the heart and mind of the believer.

First, thinking often of death, and especially the uncertainty of its coming to us, causes us to cease the sin of procrastination. Few things bring spiritual barrenness to the heart of a Christian quicker than spiritual procrastination. James warns us of such foolishness – Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin (James 4:13-17). Just think for a moment.  Today may well be the day of our death. We cannot say “No, I am not dying today”, but even if it isn’t today, someday it will be, and if the sin of procrastination was tolerated in our lives, what a waste and regret that will be!

Another application of realizing we live in the valley of the shadow of death is the impact on our priorities in life.  Imagine this situation.  If the Lord appeared to us tonight and said, “(our name), in five days, death will visit you, and your journey through the valley of the shadow of death is over. I am calling you to myself”, would we change any of our plans, rearrange any of our priorities from the temporal to the eternal, would we plead more for our unsaved loved ones to come to Christ, and would the last week of our lives take on a more spiritual emphasis than it does now?  I hope we each would answer, “No, I wouldn’t need to change anything. I am living now in the awareness of my certain death, uncertain time of my death, and of seeing Jesus” (Colossians 1:1-4).

Living in the valley of the shadow of death.  That is us. Daily. Think about it and let such truth change us.  Today.

PRAYER: “Father, remind me often of the nearness of Your Son, my Shepherd, so I shall not want.”

QUOTE: “The valley of the shadow of death isn’t a place we will visit. It is where life is lived each day.”

Because of Him,

Pastor Jim