Psalms 23:4 “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”
This must be one of the most encouraging scriptures in
the bible, “though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death”. As
God’s children we need never fear because no matter what happens in this life,
even through the path of death, God is with us. Our comfort must be the very
fact that no matter what, God will never leave us alone. “…for he hath said,
I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Heb. 13:5c When God makes us a
promise it is made for our comfort and assurance. Moses wrote these words, “Be
strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD
thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor
forsake thee.” Deuteronomy 31:6 As Christians we must always be
reminded of God’s blessings to us, but more so in the fact that we never walk
alone. We are God’s children, elected to be His children before the world was created.
God has a plan for us, and God will execute that plan during our earthly life.
Our greatest blessing of God is that He chose us to be His children therefore
we are the most blessed of God’s creation. Jesus assured us in John 10:28 - 29
“And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither
shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is
greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.”
No matter what happens in this earthly life, God truly does have us protected
in His hand and nothing happens without God allowing it. Paul wrote in Romans
8:38 - 39 “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor
angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us
from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” More
encouraging words from God that we have nothing to fear. This is why God was so
bold to point out we need to be of great courage because “we are more
than conquerors through him that loved us.” Rom. 8:37. Everything
in this life is temporary and no matter what happens and the pains that come
with it, they are short lived. When the Lord assured us that “…we are more
than conquerors through him…” this means our gain in this life is a
decisive victory, no matter what it is. We will never be defeated, just as
Jesus was not defeated in death, but that moment was His most shinning victory
as it was ours. Jesus suffered the darkest moment at His death because He died
all alone, “…My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Matt. 27:46 However,
this is the moment we as Christians had our victory over Satan, this world, and
death. This is why the Psalmist wrote, “…though I walk through the valley of
the shadow of death, I will fear no evil…” What a true blessing because God
has given us every blessing we could ever ask for. Yes, it is true, life hurts,
the stings are there, but the victory is ours because Jesus suffered it all
alone for you and me. Countless Christians suffer death as martyrs through
history for the Lord, the church, and to preserve God’s word of Truth, and not
one of them walk to their death alone. Beloved, we have no reason to fear
anyone or anything, because we are in God’s hand of grace! While life has so
many trials, persecution, and even death, Jesus Christ will carry us through
them. “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord
Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 15:57 Even though sometimes it may not look or
seem like it, God has without question blessed us beyond what we could thing or
ask. “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.” 2 Corinthians
9:15 Therefore, as Christians we need not fear what road we travel in life and
even in death, fear is not something the believer in Jesus Christ needs to have.
