Light in the Valley — Psalms 23:4
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.
A few months ago, I was collecting verses that reminded me that God was with me. Though I’d heard it before, Psalms 23:4 stuck out in a brand new way.
The Valley of Shadows
The first part God drew my attention to was the valley. The valley represents our lowest points. We’re all familiar with those places where we’ve felt the lowest, the loneliest, the most inadequate, or the farthest from God.
As I read this part, I saw an image of a person walking through this deep canyon. The first thing you noticed was the darkness against the rocks. The shadows.
I re-read the verse in my mind, “Even though I walk through the shadow of the valley of death, I will fear no evil…” — I paused, and looked back.
The shadow of the valley of death.
What does that mean I wondered?
Hm.
I sat there and pondered, chewing on this part of the verse until I could tell what tasted off.
It clicked — shadow.
Why had I never realized this before? A shadow is, as Miriam Webster describes, “partial darkness or obscurity within a part of space from which rays from a source of light are cut off by an interposed opaque body”.
Basically, something that is only made possible by an absence of light.
This made me think, if it’s a shadow, then it is not death itself, but just its shadow. Death has been defeated, it has no power so the only thing the enemy can do, is throw shadows to try to intimidate us. We’ve all seen the movies— a little child is afraid of something in the corner casting this huge scary shadow, and then when the light is flipped on and they see it’s only a rogue stuffed animal. In the dark, lies can seem really overwhelming and hopeless, but in the light we see that it has no threat at all. The truth is that the enemy has no power, and we are free in Jesus name. We walk with the authority. He can only try to scare you. That’s why we must be vigilant about expelling shadows in the only way they’ll go—through light.
Shadows & Light
Shadows are only cast when the light is blocked in some way. You turn the light on, boom, all is right. If you have a flashlight, shadows are not intimidating because you see them for what they really are.
The same thing goes with our faith.
Jesus is our light. He shines a light in the darkness, exposing every lie and shining truth.
John 1:1-5 says,
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
This passage is referring to Jesus. He shines in the darkness, and darkness cannot overcome Him.
In John 8:12, Jesus himself says,
2 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
If the light is with me, why should I fear any shadow? In fact, Psalms 139:10 says,
even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.
Darkness is not dark to him, not even the darkest and scariest places you’ve ever been or will ever go. It is like light to him!
Psalms 27:1 sums it up,
The Lord is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?
Be encouraged. You serve a King who is light itself, who darkness cannot overcome, and who mkes the night as bright as the day. Do not be afraid, for the Lord is with you.
His Rod and His staff
The next part of the verse mentions two items that I think are important for us to know as well. “—your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” A lot of the imagery in the bible relates to that of a shepherd, who watches over sheep. A biblical example of how Jesus, our shepherd, cares for and protects his sheep, his people—us. In this verse, the rod represents God’s protection. Shepherd’s had to protect their sheep from predators so you can liken this to the shadows in the valley. The Lord will protect you from the things that try to intimidate and scare you. His staff represents God’s guidance. He leads us to safety, to good grasses, out of danger. We can trust Jesus to lead us out of the valley and into the light, out of lies and into truth. This is comforting because we know that the Lord of our Souls, the Lord of all Creation, our Beloved, keeps us, protects us, goes before us, and does not play about us. Even in the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for I know you are with you; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
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Lord Jesus,
We thank you for your word! It shines a light in our lives constantly. Thank you for equipping us with the word and helping us understand it more. Thank you for exposing shadows. I pray that you would continue to shine a light on darkness, and and lead us into your everlasting light! Knock down lies and misconceptions of who you are and who we are as well. You are beautiful, good, love, and we are yours, loved, enough, good.
In JESUS name AMEN
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Additional verses referencing Jesus as the light: John 3:16-21, John 9:5, 1 John 1:6-7, 2 Corinthians 4:6
