Successfully Walking Through "The Valley Of The Shadow"

Journeying from Jerusalem to Jericho, a traveler will encounter a narrow, treacherous path along a deep gorge in the Judean wilderness called Wadi Kelt  — “the valley of the shadow” (source). It is believed that this is the location which inspired David’s writing of Psalm 23. The landscape offers very little reason to compose such an inspirational poem, simply because it is bleak, barren, and perilously steep (see YouTube video).

When David wrote, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil” (Psalm 23:4), he was in a place where evil was an ever-present reality (in the form of robbers and thieves).

And yet, he refused to give in to fear. David was saying that the presence of God gave him the confidence to pass through difficult places without fear of being deserted by Him. In Psalm 71:5, David tells us that the Lord was his "hope and trust" (cf. Jeremiah 17:7; Proverbs 3:5).

Many claim to have hope, but only those whose hope is “in Christ,“ can claim it with certainty (1 Corinthians 15:12-22; cf. John 14:6).

Our hope doesn’t come from our own strength, intelligence, or favorable circumstances, but from the Lord (Jeremiah 14:7-8; Jeremiah 17:13).

Dear reader, with our hope and trust in the Lord, we can successfully walk through “the valley of the shadow” of death without fearing any evil (Psalm 23:4; cf. Proverbs 3:5-6; Psalm 37:5).

—Mike Riley, Gospel Snippets