“Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death”

What a familiar statement from our most favored book of all!

Have you ever particularly paid attention to these eternal truths spoken out of a shepherd boy’s mouth?

This is one of the most remarkable truths of the Old Covenant reading spoken by King David, whom God took out of the shepherding filed to make him King over His own treasured people Israel.

He is starting with such a possibility, which means to say even though he needed to walk through the valley of the shadow of death he would fear no evil while in it.

How many of us have even gazed in the spirit at these eternal words? In particular the word shadow. Ofcource first the word valley,and then the word shadow.

What is a shadow?

Shadow or shadows are not the real thing they are just but images of the same things. They are presenting themselves as real, but they are only a shadow of the original. In this very well known psalm the psalmist, King David sees the truth for a believer the death has been already conquered. The reality of death cannot touch a true saved and blood washed man, but they can go through the valley that represents itself as though going dawn to reality of death itself. Therefore he does not call it the valley of death, but“The valley of the shadow of death”. There remains a great difference between the two. The reality of death itself and its shadow, which makes it, appear as death itself.

Many of us seeing the shadow of things can recognize them as a shadow only, yet when it comes to the shadow of death, we remain unaware that this is only its shadow and not the reality of it. The psalmist David speaks of The Lord Jesus (Seeing Him through the eyes of faith) being the true shepherd of His flock.

He presents the Lord’s shepherding role in restoration of the souls of His sheep. In this great spiritual restoration David says that His goal is to lead His own flock in the paths of rightousness.

Would you please pay a very close attention to these words? The Lord’s main concern is not just the outward needs of His flock, but to maintain them through faith in restoration work of His righteousness in their souls.

Ofcource now the heretic haunters would arise to argue with me about His care for our ordinary and basic needs too. But before you judge these thoughts let me explain my heart in this few next sentences.

God knows human heart and that His own flock has a more excellent need than just food and cloths. He knows that the heart of the unredeemed men is desperately wicked; therefore it is the inner man that needs to be restored to the full measure of God’s standard of righteousness, which dwells in Christ alone.

Having said this let us go back to Psalm 23 and its original spiritual intent for the believer’s life.

The psalmist says He the Lord has a purpose of leading His flock to the Paths of righteousness for His own name’s sake. Why paths? And not path? Since there is more than one way to restore man’s fallen image in Christ and He alone see’s them spiritually. It is God’s good please in Christ Jesus to bring you and me in these long neglected spiritual paths. When the Lord begins this process some unusual stuff begins to happen in His own people’s lives.

We begin to feel as though our lives are going downward. This causes us to question our position in life and with God. Yes it is a journey into the valley. It is then that we begin to realize the presence of sin in our lives. This restoration of rightousness requires His flock to walk as mourners, mourning over their sin, and this is a very uncomfortable feeling. The valley of shadow of death is the uncomfortable walk of sorrow over our sins and the darkness realized within our souls. It is not an easy path to walk in the paths of righteousness. It requires a lot of self denial, many different grieving periods. Our path in life begins to seem so dark that we think in our sorrows that God has even left us in those moments in life. These paths are the paths of humility and they sound like defeat after defeat in our journey. Yet it is right then that the Lord is closer to us than all other times.

The darkness in our lives is so thick in these times, where we think as being abandoned again after being saved. Satan comes to whisper in our ears. Where is your God? If the Lord you worship is with you, then what are all these in your life? He must have abandoned you for your sins. And many other demonic whispers in our hearing. The shadow of death seems as real as death itself can be, but with one huge difference, and that is it is its shadow and not death, because you have passed from death onto life by now. It is the power of His restoration in us that makes us walk through its shadow in this life that we would avoid its reality in the next life. Did you get it folks? This is another reason why we confess our sins in the valley to the Lord for escaping the eternal condemnation of Hell.

Do you notice David doesn’t say though I stay or stand, but he says, “Though I walk through,” Which means its only a phase I go

Through, meaning He will not let me stay in it for longer than I could bear, or He intended to sanctify my soul in the restoring work of His righteousness in me. In this King David says as the Shepherd of God’s flock Israel in this way.

“I will fear no evil” why? Since now he knows it is God who has permitted this in his life for righteousness sake. It is not death that has been given dominion over him. It is its shadow, so that His soul would be eternally saved from the pangs and reality of eternal death itself. Therefore David says I shall fear no evil. Many unfortunately miss quote this verse like the rest of the scriptures to our own shame, or write this psalm on the grave stones of people, however the true meaning of this is to the remnant who are going through the fires of cleansing and restoration in righteousness.

Knowing that in all these trials the Lord’s hand is upon us, will make us walk in confidence, assurance and strength not to be afraid of all these predicaments surrounding our lives.  Just like Job who was so confident in His trials that said to God in the presence of His so called friends “Though He slays me, yet I will hope in Him or worship Him”. These are the words of a man who trusted His God even during his God ordained trials.

Here the psalmist says again “For I would not fear evil; for You are with me.” You see David knows in all of these God is still with Him. Can you say this to the devil today who is whispering in your ears otherwise?

David says it again. “Your rod and your staff, they comfort me”

Here the psalmist once again declares “It is by your rod and Your staff, which could be people or situations in His life that he begets a sighing or a weeping to bring the comfort of restorative repentance in him.

Now having fully realized the purpose of all his agonizing discomforts the psalmist says boldly

“ You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.”

Here is when the vessel being sanctified and restored to the image of Christ’s righteousness after having fully understood the heavenly purposes in Him can celebrate such a difficult and narrow passage unto eternal life. He now understands that sin and lawlessness were his enemies and that the trials were to weed them out from his life. This is where James boldly proclaims “count it all joy, when you face trails of many kinds”. Count it all joy? Yes I believe James the half brother of the Lord fully had understood this process in psalm 23.

By the preaching of this word I pray that the precious Holy Spirit would awaken in us a new spiritual knowledge of His restoring work of righteousness. That we would no longer would look at our present trials in a negative way. That the voice of our mind and Satan’s voice would be silenced in us to walk through these precious works of the Holy Spirit in our lives trusting Him being there with us. That instead of feeling abandoned we would feel more confident in Him.  That we would not confuse the shadow with its original. Amen? Prophet Habakkuk too finally came to the discovery of this truth in his own life and in the life of God’s people Israel, and prayed “Though the fig tree does not blossom…”  Also Zechariah the prophet in many parts of his prophecy speaks of this awesome work of righteousness that would come in the Church. He prophesied that priests and prophets would start calling on God for such a restoration one day.