YEA, THOUGH I WALK...

One thing I hate is darkness. Dark rooms, dark homes, dark places. In fact, this New York city girlie (used to bright lights) has had a very difficult time adjusting to the dark streets and highways of Delaware. Long stretches of unlit roadways have unnerved me and still do. Turn the light on so I can see where I'm going! I love knowing what's up ahead before I get there. That way I can detour if I need to. Or avoid that path altogether. Oh, to be able to SEE AND KNOW the lifepath before us! For many of us it would be golden to have that foreknowledge so that we can cherry pick where in this life we go! Imagine knowing that the marriage wouldn't work out long before you married or that the job would lay you off just one year after hiring you. Yep, like me, you would definitely go another way!

No one likes to be in the (proverbial) dark but unfortunately, we don't have the luxury of always knowing what life has in store for us. Only hindsight is 20/20, not foresight. And, quite frankly, if we did know what life held for us, most of us would be too afraid to proceed. Life can be quite scary and dark, leaving us bewildered and terrified. In Psalm 23:4, the parallel of us walking through life's valleys and valley-walking for sheep is made clear. The Psalmist (David) knows this type of physical terrain firsthand. He was well acquainted with the difficulties and dangers of driving sheep through dark, dangerous places. Having gone before the sheep he already knew what the valley was like. He knew where the river swelled, where the potential for avalanche was, where poisonous plants hid and where predators lay in wait. And he still took his sheep through that dark valley...just like our Heavenly Father does. He knows what's ahead when we are walking through challenging times. He's gone before us, so He sees the outcome when we don't.

David also knew what kind of care sheep needed when walking through such places. Sheep are easily frightened and when one runs, they all run (quite like us)! During this valley walk, the shepherd leads his flock gently, but persistently, up the winding paths, over the rocks, through the shrubbery, avoiding everything that is harmful and ready to defend his flock against predators. During this walk, it is the shepherd and his sheep alone. No one else is around. It's a time of intimacy and the sheep and shepherd become more bonded through this experience. We can see the parallel here as it pertains to real life. As Psalm 23:4 says, "even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid for you are close beside me." What a comfort this is! We may well be afraid but when we experience God in those valleys, His tender love and care for us, we draw closer to Him and learn to trust Him more. If earthly shepherds do this for their animals, how much more does our Heavenly Father do it for us?!

But here's the real good news. When a shepherd takes his sheep through a valley, he is, in fact, leading them to higher ground. He is driving them to an elevated place, and the valley is the way to go. The valley is where the sheep learn to lean and depend on Him. But they have to walk through it just like we have to walk through it in order to get to the mountaintop! Reader, if you are going through a valley today, be encouraged! Know that our Heavenly Father is taking you higher! He's taking you to a promoted place and you will come to know Him more deeply and intimately! There's no higher ground experience without the valley, so take heart and get to know the One leading and guiding you through it! He is the Good Shepherd and He loves and cares for you and is always with you!

~Dania Roberts