Walk through the valley

Psalm 23. I recite it to myself. I talk about it it with others. Who knows how many times I’ve read it. But I just noticed something that caught my attention. 

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…

I walk….I don’t sit down and give up. I don’t stay in one place. I don’t wait for the bus to come pick me up. I keep putting one foot in front of the other.

Walking isn’t dramatic; it’s not especially fast. It’s steady. But it matters. Gradually, step by step, it moves you towards your destination.

I walk through…I’m not going around in circles, around and around, lost in the futility of an endless dead-end. I’m not going in reverse, trying to get out of the valley by going back to where I came from. I’m walking through. This valley has an end point, there, ahead of me. The walk is not endless, and there’s something waiting for me on the other side. Knowing this can keep me going, one step at a time. 

The Christian life includes the idea of being on a journey. In the 17th century, John Bunyan made this famous in Pilgrim’s Progress (which he wrote in jail - not a place where it might feel that you’re going anywhere - suggesting that the journey is sometimes in our own souls). In the 20th century, Elizabeth Elliot reminded us of the nature of walking by talking about a favorite poem with the refrain “Do the next thing.”

Just keep taking the next step forward. This idea has helped me in times of feeling dark or overwhelmed. I don’t have to do everything. Just the next thing. Step, step, step.

We’re not in an endless loop going nowhere. We are pilgrims headed to a destination. Sometimes the road is pleasant, sometimes challenging. Sometimes maybe a little boring. Sometimes so hard it’s all we can do to pick our way along. At times we are surrounded by dappled shade and gentle breezes, and we look up and feel our hearts lift with a glimpse of birds careening in a big blue sky. At other times we feel oppressed by the heat pounding down, or struggling to breathe because of the chill seeping into our bones. At times it’s so dark that we feel like we will surely fall or be attacked by something lurking in the shadows. Maybe there are breaks along the way, pauses to catch our breath and get nourishment we need to keep going. And then we step out again. Our feet are sore and our energy feels like it might give out. But we are walking through. We are going somewhere. 

Are we alone on this walk? Sometimes we’re grateful for the companions with us along the way. And then at other times, feelings of isolation can make the walk harder - we can feel utterly alone. But, David assures us, we are never really alone. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you are with me. The Good Shepherd promises his companionship, help, and protection.

And then, after we have walked through the valley, to our utter thrill…

The ransomed of the LORD shall return and come to Zion with singing; 

everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; 

they shall obtain gladness and joy,  

and sorrow and sighing shall flee away 

(Isaiah 35:10)