The Valley of the Shadow of Death

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for Thou art with me” Psalm 23:4a

Death is the inevitable conclusion of our mortal lives. It is a natural part of our life cycle: we are born, we live, we die. And yet, in a very real sense, there is nothing natural about death. Mankind was not made to die. Genesis 2:16-17 introduces the concept of death, but does so, not as a part of His design, but as a consequence of sin.

“And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”

In fact, it was the reality of death as a consequence of sin that Satan chose to attack in his temptation of Eve:

“Ye shall not surely die…” (Genesis 3:4)

Because we were not made for death, we have a hard time coming to grips with its reality. It is something that happens, yes, but to someone else…not to me…not yet.

So, if death is inevitable, where is our hope? Simply put, the human race finds its hope in the empty tomb of Jesus. His death paid the penalty for our sin, and His resurrection proved His victory, once and for all, over death.

“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, Who by Him do believe in God, that raised Him up from the dead, and gave Him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.” 1 Peter 1:18-21

But that hope isn’t our default: it demands a decision. It is a gift, freely given, but must also be personally accepted. How do we accept the gift? Romans 10:9-10 tells us:

“if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou halt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

Sin separates us from God, and without forgiveness of sin, we cannot be with God in heaven for ever. Whether you go to heaven or hell when you die is not dependant on who you are, or how much good you have done. Romans 10:13 tells us,

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

It’s a simple matter of whether you have called upon the Lord, admitting your sin, and asking for His forgiveness. The blood of Christ did the rest, making it possible for a wholly just, wholly righteous God to forgive and restore us to relationship with Himself.

And it is that relationship, that reality of the presence of God, that causes us to walk through the valley of the shadow of death without fear.

Look at the verse from Psalm 23 again:

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me…”

It is the fact that God is with us, the very nearness of His Spirit indwelling our hearts, that makes the valley of the shadow of death a place of peace and even joy, rather than fear and uncertainty. We can rest in the knowledge that God not only knows all about the valley, but is walking with us each step of the way.

Because death is not what we were made for, we have an innate fear of it. Yet, for the Christian, that fear is turned to joy as we rest in the promise of the Lord and look forward to the day described in Revelation 21:4

“And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain, for the former things are passed away.”

Perhaps you are treading the path down into the valley of the shadow of death: if you have accepted Christ’s gift, if your sins are forgiven, you can rejoice that the shadow cannot hurt you. It may be scary, it may keep you from being able to see clearly what’s around you, but it can never hurt you.

If you have never humbled yourself before the Lord, confessing your sins to Him and asking for His forgiveness, death is a thing to be rightly feared.—But you are not stuck there. You can accept the free gift of salvation right now, and then you will have nothing to fear, of death or its shadows.

Whether you are in the valley, or just walking a path that will lead there someday, remember, the presence of God is what takes away the fear of death. Lean on Him, get close to Him, stay close to Him—He will lead you safely through.

“O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 

1 Corinthians 15:55-57