Through the Valley

You may have a valley you do not talk about: a scan result, a marriage nobody knows is failing, or a child who will not pick up the phone. You get through the working day, and all of it is waiting for you when you sit down alone in the car.

There is a change in this verse that is easy to read past. For the first three verses, David talks about God as "he": "He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul." In the valley, "he" becomes "thou": "for thou art with me." In the dark, David stops talking about God and starts talking to Him. And look at what the psalm does not offer. It never pretends the valley can be avoided, or that the shadow was imaginary. It says that Someone walks with him, and that he is walking: the valley is a road he is on, not a place where he lives. It also names two tools, the rod and the staff. A shepherd used the rod against whatever attacked the sheep and the staff to guide the sheep along, and David calls them both a comfort.

So stop talking about God for a moment and start talking to Him. Say "You" to Him in the ten seconds before you open the car door. He does not need you to explain any of it, because He already knows. He wants you to speak to Him. The psalm shows that even in the darkest valley the Shepherd is close enough to hear you, and He will lead you through.

Daily Manna runs on a two-year cycle. The year two reading for day 269 is Prayed for Thee (Luke 22:32).

All 365 readings in Daily Manna