Psalm 23:4 - God Leads Us Through The Valleys

Psalm 23. The focus of our exposition today is

going to be in verse 4, but we're going to read

the entirety of the psalm for context and just

to be familiar with it as we go through. The

Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes

me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside

quiet waters. He restores my soul. He guides

me in paths of righteousness for his namesake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the

shadow of death, I fear no evil, for you are

with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort

me. You prepare a table before me in the presence

of my enemies. You have anointed my head with

oil. My cup overflows. Surely goodness and loving

kindness will follow me all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Father, we come

to you this Lord's Day. Lord, we ask that you

would bless your word as only you can, Lord.

Father, we ask that you would... accompany the

ministry of the word of God for the benefit and

the good of the people of God. Lord, that your

spirit would work in the hearts and the minds

of the saints today. Father, we ask that your

word would pierce the heart and the mind of the

unbelieving sinner who doesn't know Jesus Christ

by faith and repentance, that they might be brought

in to the flock of God and know you as their

good shepherd. Lord, be in our midst. Be with

us. Use your word. Bless your word. Show yourself

mighty. Show yourself powerful this day, at this

time. We ask these things in Christ's name. Amen.

You may be seated. Imagine two different men

or women, two different individuals, going through

very similar... Sufferings or trials. Two men

or two women who are struggling and wrestling

in life. One's over here, one's over here. The

problem they face is similar. The consequences,

the outcome is similar. One handles it in a certain

way. They sink down deep into themselves. Bitterness

takes root. Anger comes out. Resentment is defining

them and characterizing them because of their

circumstances, because of the suffering. Now

imagine the other man. That individual is going

through the same thing, the same experiences.

the same timing, even the same duration. But

this one doesn't seem to cave in to themselves.

It seems to press them outward. There seems to

be a peace or a contentment, a joy, a satisfaction,

a hopefulness that's present in that individual.

We think about those two men. What's the difference?

They're both men made in the image of God. They're

both sinners. They both have issues. They're

both imperfect. The difference is that one is

a sheep with a good shepherd. One is counted

among the flock of God. One has been made new

by the work of the Spirit of God. One has been

gifted faith and repentance. One has the Spirit

of God dwelling within them, sustaining them

and preserving them. And the other is left to

themselves. No faith, no repentance. The Spirit

of God is not dwelling within them. They do not

look outside of themselves. They look to themselves

for hope, for strength. Today we find in Psalm

23, that it is possible and feasible and something

that the Christian ought to strive for, that

through the valleys and through the shadows,

they are to look to their shepherd for strength

outside of themselves. We come to a new section

of the psalm. I'm sure that you can see that

the tone of the... the tone of the psalm itself

changes in verse 4. There's a couple differences.

In verses 1 through 3, we really see this pleasant

picture of the Lord providing for his people,

his care, his loving kindness at work in their

life. And then in verse 4, we're introduced to

this idea of the valley of the shadow of death.

This dark, difficult place that the people of

God have to walk through. We're going to consider

the reality that there are valleys and shadows.

There's suffering in the life of believers. We're

going to consider the fact that these are caused

by something. That suffering has a source. These

valleys and shadows. are universal. There's no

exceptions for any believer because they have

a cause. They're the result of something. We'll

see that they are inevitable for every single

believer. No believer in Christ is exempt from

hardship, trial, difficulty, or suffering. in

their life as long as they live in a fallen and

sinful world. Every single one is within the

grasp and the influence of sin and its ugly,

nasty fruit in this world. We'll see that the

real problem of these valleys and shadows in

the life of the believer is that We're people

made in the image of God. And that we have hearts.

We're not machines just walking through life.

That we have affections and longings. And so

the real problem with these valleys and shadows

in the lives of believers is the fact that they

bring with them the temptation to make us disheartened.

to overwhelm us with fear, or to become distraught.

But we also see that there's hope for every believer

in the valleys and in the shadows, not because

of them, but there's hope because the shepherd

is with them. The shepherd protects them. The

shepherd preserves them. The shepherd gets them.

through and brings them to the other side and

out of the valley as he sees fit. So the reality

of valleys and shadows for the believer. When

the words in verse 4, when we hear these words,

even though I walk through the valley of the

shadow of death. He's using the imagery of a

valley in a deep, deep darkness to convey certain

truths. When we think about a valley, we think

about something that's walled in. We think about

something that's difficult and hard to get out

of. We think about something that is almost insurmountable

if you go at it the right way. There's no escape.

You're surrounded on every side. But David also

uses this language of the valley of the shadow

of death. It carries this idea of overwhelming,

complete, terrible, dreadful darkness. So it's

not so much talking about the situation as the

intensity of the situation. Interestingly enough,

this same word is used 18 times in the Bible.

Over half of those are used in the book of Job.

Now why is that relevant? Because Job suffered

a great deal in his life. He went through just

about every form of pain and loss and grief that

a human being can experience. He went through

the valley of the shadow of death in his life.

He walked through it, brothers and sisters. So

what is this language meant to convey for the

reader? What does David want to get across? He

wants us to understand that there is a reality.

That the covenant people of God, though they

have a good shepherd, difficult, trying days

in their life. Every single one of them will

go through trials, suffering, loss, hardship,

pain, grief, and mourning. To be a believer in

Jesus Christ, and we've made mention of this

on many occasions, To be a believer in Jesus

Christ is not to do away with all the problems

of life. To be a Christian is not to rid oneself

of every trying situation in life. To be a believer

in Jesus Christ is to walk through the valley

and to walk into the darkness. Facing the fear,

facing the dread, knowing that the shepherd is

with you and at your side. It doesn't take away

the valleys. That's a misconception. And that's

false thinking for the believer. We all live

in this world. We're all subject to the reality

of valleys and shadows as believers. Now this

brings us to another thing. If valleys and shadows

or suffering exist, they have to have a cause.

They have to have a reason that they exist. And

for us to understand valleys and shadows, or

for us to understand hardship and difficulty,

we really need to know the ultimate cause, the

ultimate source of those hardships and those

trials in our lives. Where should our minds go

when we think about suffering and hardship and

where it comes from? Our minds should be drawn

all the way back to the beginning of the Bible.

All the way back to the book of Genesis and Genesis

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3. There was a time in this creation

when sin did not exist in the world. There was

a time. In this creation, brothers and sisters,

when there was not hardship, when there was not

suffering, when there was not trial, when there

was not pain, there was a time. But then, because

of Adam's sin, and because of the entrance of

sin into this world, everything gets broken.

Everything gets shaken. Everything gets turned

upside down. Everything gets perverted and twisted.

The things that work ought not to work. The things

that don't work do work. Sin messes everything

up in this world. Now, I think it's important

for us to understand that when we're considering

the cause of suffering in this world, As I refer

to it here today, it's not the personal sins

of individual, it's the reality of sin. It's

the whole reality and existence of sin in this

world that brings about suffering, pain, loss,

and hardship. It's because... that reality, that

sickness, that disease exists. That there's all

these manifest symptoms of suffering and hardship,

death even, in this world. Because sin exists,

suffering exists in this world. So everything

that's trying difficult, Everything that brings

pain and loss and grief and mourning and sadness

into our lives, it is the result ultimately of

what, brothers and sisters? The reality and existence

of sin in this world. Now, as we'll see, one

of the great things about the gospel is that

it fixes that problem. The gospel promises a

day when the whole concept, the whole reality,

and the whole existence of sin will be done away

with. The work of Christ will remove every single

trace of sin, iniquity, and corruption in this

world, brothers and sisters. And it's only the

gospel that can accomplish that. So we see that

there is a solution for the valleys in the shadows

of this life. But we know the cause. We know

why they are here. So we must conclude also that

valleys and shadows are in fact inevitable for

every single believer in Jesus Christ. Some might

come to Psalm 23 and come to it and think, I

love verses 1 through 3. I love the fact that

the Lord is my shepherd. I love and I rejoice

in the fact that I shall not want. What a pleasant,

what a blessed statement. Some may come to Psalm

23 and say, yes, I just adore the fact that He

makes me lie down in green pastures. Or they

come in, it really stirs my soul. That He leads

me beside quiet waters. It just encourages me

to know in the reality that He restores my soul.

He guides me in paths of righteousness. And then

stop. And just stop. At the end of verse 3. Why

would somebody stop at verse 3? Because the next

verse says, even though I walk through the valley

of the shadow of death. Verses 1 -3 are not just

relevant and applicable for the believer, brothers

and sisters. Verse 4, verse 5, and verse 6 are

all applicable and relevant for the believer

in this life. Why has God given us verse 4 of

Psalm 23? Why is it present in the text of Scripture?

Why is it included in holy canon, brothers and

sisters? Because the Lord knows that every single

one of His covenant people will go through valleys

and shadows in this life. And they will need

Psalm 23, verse 4. They don't just need 1 through

Psalms 23:4

3. We need to understand and grasp the reality.

That we will face trial in this life. You need

to understand and grasp the reality and wrestle

with the reality in your own soul. That you will

face hardship in your life. Sin is universal

in this world, is it not, brothers and sisters?

mucky, miry, dirty hand has touched everything.

Nothing in this world is outside of its reach.

That means that every single believer that walks

on the face of this earth until the Lord Jesus

Christ returns and renews the world and makes

all things new will deal with valleys and shadows

in their lives. This is why we read such things

as Psalm 34, verse 19, which says, Many are the

Psalms 34:19

afflictions of the righteous. Many are the afflictions

of the righteous. That doesn't seem fair. The

righteous are afflicted? Those who fear God,

the saints of the living God? are afflicted,

yes, because we live in a fallen world. Many

are the afflictions of the righteous. This is

why the book of Job, chapter 5, verse 7, says

Job 5:7

this, For man is born for trouble as sparks fly

upward. Now, that is not Job speaking. That is

Eliphaz speaking. And just an important note,

when you're reading the book of Job, it's important

to understand who's talking. Because not everything

Eliphaz says, not everything the other men say,

is completely accurate. But in this case, Eliphaz...

hits the nail on the head. What does he mean

by that statement? What does he mean in the fact

that for man is born for trouble as sparks fly

upward? You think about sparks and a fire. Some

of your kids, I'm sure, love to start fires and

make fires intentionally or unintentionally.

What flies upward? Sparks. Flames. Why? Because

there are laws in place, brothers and sisters.

There are laws of physics that exist that cause

that to come about. Now what about the birth

of a man and the experience of trouble in this

life? A man is born. Is it possible for a man

not to experience trouble? trouble in his life,

not to experience trying times. Brothers and

sisters, there is a law in place in this world.

There is a principle at work that the sovereign

hand of God maintains because of his fierce judgment

against sin. Man in this world where sin exists

will have trouble. In their life. And if you

are born in this world. You will experience.

Hardship. In this life. This is why. John. In

John's gospel. We read these words. In John chapter

John 16 · chapter mention

16. Verse 33. This is the Lord himself saying

these words. These things I have spoken to you,

so that in me you may have peace. In this world

you have tribulation. Do you take the Lord Jesus

Christ at his word, brothers and sisters? What

is the Lord Jesus' view of this world and this

age until his return? It is to have tribulation,

trial, and hardship. This is why Peter says in

1 Peter 4, verse 12, Beloved, do not be surprised

1 Peter 4:12

at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon

you for your testing, as though some strange

thing were happening to you. Now, why does Peter

say this? He's talking about persecution in this

sense, in this context. But he says, don't act

like it's odd, that it's strange, that it's weird

that you're suffering in this life. It's not.

It ought to be expected in this life. It's something

that's normal. And a part of this life, actually.

Consider some of the great themes and motifs

in the Bible. What comes before the promised

land for the nation of Israel, brothers and sisters?

Wilderness wonderings. They're in the wilderness.

They're dealing with needs and provision. They're

wrestling with sin, belief and unbelief. Then

the promised land comes. The book of Hebrews

is clear that we as new covenant Christians are

in the wilderness as believers waiting for the

promised land to come, to arrive. That means

tribulations, trials and hardships, valleys.

And shadows. What about all of the exhortations

to persevere? Why do we need to persevere? Because

we need diligence in our life because it's hard

in this life. Endurance. Why does Paul say, I

have fought the good fight? Why are we exhorted

in the book of Revelation over and over, those

who overcome? Those who have victory. This life

is a battle. This life is something that must

be overcome. This life is something that we must

persevere in. What about the great proof of valleys

and shadows in this life? Death. The fact that

every single one of us in this room will die.

Is death a valley in a shadow, brothers and sisters?

Absolutely. And it's one that we're all progressively

nearing. It's one that we're all progressively

getting closer to. It's something that every

single one of us as believers must face. In a

sense, it's the valley and the shadow that each

believer will have to face and go through one

day. at some time. It's inevitable for every

single person in this room to have these trials.

Now I'm pressing this upon you for a reason.

I'm pushing this on you for a reason. Because

it's vitally important that we understand that

these are inevitable in our lives. Though they

may vary in duration or type, though they may

vary in intensity, every single believer will.

Why am I pushing this? Because, brothers and

sisters, the believer in Jesus Christ has to

have a right worldview with regards to this world.

The believer in Jesus Christ... has to have the

right expectations with regards to the days that

are coming in their life. Why? So that we're

not caught off guard. So that when the valley

and the shadow arrive, we are prepared in our

hearts, we are ready in our hearts to face it.

If we know what is coming, brothers and sisters.

then we know much better how to prepare for it.

How are you preparing your heart and your mind

in the grace of God for trials that are coming

in your life? How are you looking ahead in your

life and saying, I know. That I'm going to suffer

in some way. I know that trials and tribulation

will come into my life. How are you readying

your heart in the grace of God for those realities?

The Christian is not one who denies or rejects

valleys and shadows. The Christian is the one

who readies and prepares themselves to meet the

valleys and the shadows with the hand of the

shepherd next to them. We don't avoid them. We

don't deny them. We don't cast them off. We accept

them because we know the shepherd is with us.

We prepare ourselves and we have right expectations

with regards to hardship in this life. Now, they're

inevitable. What is the real problem with valleys

and shadows? Why are they so dangerous, we could

say, for the sheep? What is the real threat when

the darkness comes upon the believer? What's

the real danger in the valley, brothers and sisters?

Is it just pain? Is it just the experience of

something? The loss of something? No, the real

threat of valleys and shadows is that they bring

with them the temptation to be overwhelmed by

fearfulness in our hearts. This is why David

says, I fear no evil. The real problem of suffering

for the believer is what it tempts us to do in

our hearts. The real problem for the believer

in trials and hardships is what it threatens

to do when fearfulness creeps into our minds

and into our hearts. Think about, Abraham was

afraid of men. And what did that fear drive Abraham

to do? To be deceitful and to lie. That temptation,

that trial, that shadow, that valley caused him

to lapse in faith and to revert to carnality

in the flesh. What about the nation of Israel?

We see so many instances that would be great

illustrations. What about when they came up to

the promised land? And the Lord commands Moses,

and Moses commands the people, go in, scout out

the land, bring back some fruit, tell us if the

cities are fortified, what are the people like?

Are they strong? Are they weak? Are they ready?

Are they prepared? And you remember, he sends

one man from each tribe, a leader of that tribe.

It wasn't just anybody, but a leader of that

tribe. And they go and they scout out the land.

You remember, they come back, brothers and sisters.

Ten of the twelve were scared out of their boots.

Why? Because they said, we're like grasshoppers.

They're giants. They're powerful. They're strong.

They're mighty. We're weak. We're pathetic in

the sight of these men. They were fearful. They

were overwhelmed with their fear. And what did

it do? It caused them to grumble. And it caused

them to rebel against the living God and against

his appointed servant, Moses. That fear drove

them. to carnality, rebellion. Why? Because of

the lack of faith. They lapsed in their faith

because of the pressure of the fear from the

valley in the shadow. The problem with fear is

not that it could destroy our circumstances.

The real problem of fear is not that it could

strip us of our livelihood. The real problem

of the valleys and shadows, brothers and sisters,

is not that it could take away our prosperity.

That's an outward thing. The real problem with

valleys and shadows is they bring us to a place

of self -reliance and carnality if we do not

respond in faith. And that self -reliance and

that carnality can manifest itself in all kinds

of ways. Can it not, brothers and sisters? Trials

have the unique ability to make the child of

God to be utterly self -centered. To be terribly

self - to where they're just focused on themselves,

their own situation, their own life, their own

problems. Suffering has a particular way of touching

that one nerve in our heart, which causes us

to look to ourselves for strength and power and

perseverance. But we get... The last thing we

see in this text. Though this is a real problem

and temptation for believers, there is hope for

the believer in the valley and the shadows. Notice

in this text that David doesn't crumble under

the pressure and cave to himself. He doesn't

turn inward. He doesn't turn his eyes to himself.

He doesn't rely on himself. But he actually looks

away from himself. He turns his eyes outward

and he says, For you are with me. So David finds

hope in the Lord, which is outside of himself.

He doesn't go inward. He goes outward, brothers

and sisters, by faith to the Lord. Now, knowing

this and seeing this, we can understand there's

really only two ways to respond to suffering

in this life for the believer. Two ways. Not

four, not five, not six. There's two options.

For the believer in this life. When the valley

and the shadow are approaching in your life.

Where they've come upon you. When the darkness

arrives. When trouble comes. You can either respond

in the flesh. In carnality. In self -strength.

Or you can respond in faith. Looking to the living

God, the Good Shepherd, looking outside of yourself

to His rod and His staff for strength, comfort,

protection, perseverance, and preservation in

this life. Those are the only two options. How

are you responding to the hardships in your life?

Are you responding in the flesh? Or are you responding

by trusting and looking outside of yourself to

the Lord Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd? When

we look to Him, brothers and sisters, we realize

that we are safe. Because everything of verses

1 -3 is still true, even when we go through trials.

Our memory gets very, very short in hardship,

doesn't it? When pain, loss, and grief come into

our life, I think we often forget, I'm still

a sheep. And I'm still His sheep. I think in

hardship and pain in the life of God's people,

that's when it's best. To be a sheep in God's

flock and to have him as a shepherd in your life.

The shepherd will be that much sweeter, brothers

and sisters, the darker the valley is. The darker

the valley, the more you long for the shepherd.

The deeper the valley, The more you long for

the power of the shepherd and his rod, the harder

the trouble, the more you need the power of God

in your life. Listen, brothers and sisters, the

harder the situation, the sweeter the grace of

God. Valleys and shadows ought to be reminders.

That it's good to be a sheep in God's flock.

He is a good shepherd. He is a kind shepherd.

And none of that changes when our life gets difficult

or hard. The glorious reality and hope of the

believer in hardship has nothing to do with himself.

The glorious reality of the believer in the valley

and in the shadow is Christ in me, the hope of

glory. It's the shepherd himself, brothers and

sisters. Our Lord and our Savior knows what it's

like to be in the valley and to be in the shadow,

does he not? He went through the valley of valleys,

brothers and sisters. Do you understand that?

Our shepherd that guides us, our shepherd that

directs us, our shepherd that protects us and

preserves us and gets us through and brings us

through, he went through the suffering of sufferings,

the hardship of hardships. This is the gospel.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, took on flesh and

he came into the world and he dwelt among us.

And he endured hardship. He came into the valley

willingly. He walked right into the darkness

and right into the shadow. And he made it through

all by himself. He came through when he burst

forth out of the grave after dying on the cross

and facing the darkest of moments that any human

being could ever experience. He knows what it's

like to go through hardship. He knows what it's

like for his sheep to be afraid. He's a sympathetic

and a compassionate and a merciful shepherd,

as we read in the book of Hebrews. Does he not

know what you need in your life? When things

get hard. Has he not been there? Does he not

know what you need most in your soul? When you're

at the point of despair or hopelessness, he's

been there, brothers and sisters. He's the good

shepherd that faced the darkness and came out

on the other side. Does he not know how to sustain

you and preserve you? Does he not know how to

lift up your soul and provide for you even in

the worst of valleys and the darkest of times

in your life? Our shepherd not only can bring

us out of the valleys and shadows, but because

of his work, brothers and sisters, he will do

away with all valleys and all shadows one day.

Consider that grand reality. The day is coming

because of the death of our Lord, because of

the death of our Savior. The day is coming when

there will be no more hardship. The day is coming

when sin will be removed and taken out. The day

is coming when there will be no more pain and

no more suffering. There will be no more tears

and no more grief and no more mourning in the

souls of... God's people, all because of our

great and our glorious shepherd, Jesus Christ.

He can bring his sheep through the valley for

his glory, brothers and sisters. Don't forget

it.