Even when I go through the darkest valley,
I fear no danger,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff—they comfort me.

1) Why do I not need to fear when I am in the dark valley?
There is no doubt that David was familiar with dark valleys.  He could have penned this particular psalm during many times of his life – when Saul was seeking to kill him out of jealousy (1 Samuel 18:6-16) and David faced the fear of his own death; when he was grieving the death of his first child with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 12:15-23) and David faced the fear of painful loss; when he was confronted with the desolation between his children that included rape and murder (2 Samuel 13) and David faced the fear of the unraveling of his family; or when his own men turned against him (2 Samuel 15) and David faced the fear of betrayal and failure.  Yet David’s own words in this Psalm reflect that he wasn’t afraid.  What was his secret? Confidence in the God who was “with him” provided him with the strength to persevere through the darkest times.

2) What difference does God being “with me” make?
In another beautiful illustration, David pens in Psalm 3 the effect the with me God’s presence had on him during his difficult times.  When he was in the valley, facing the dark, David felt the protection of God, the glory of God, and the strength of God to face those difficult moments (3:3).  God was his sustainer (3:5).  And as a result, David knew peace and rest (3:5) because he understood that God was ultimately in control of the entire situation (3:8).

3) What do God’s “rod and staff” have to do with comfort?
David returns with these words of “rod and staff” tying them to the imagery of God as his Shepherd.  David understood the dependency of the relationship between a shepherd and his sheep, and all that it entailed.  The shepherd who tends to, protects, defends, and rescues his sheep was close to David’s heart and an important part of his early life.  David articulates the role of a shepherd when he speaks with King Saul, before he goes out to face Goliath in 1 Samuel 17:31-40.  In today’s Scripture reference, David puts  himself into the role of a sheep, finding comfort in the fact that the Shepherd would take care of him in the darkest and most difficult of days.

1) Why do I not need to fear when I am in the dark valley?
Dark times in the valley are an unavoidable reality of life in this broken world.  Thus, how do we navigate them with the confidence that David exemplifies for us?  First, we remember Who is in control of every valley.  At God’s spoken word, “…mountains rose and valleys sank — to the place [He] established for them,” (Psalm 104:8). Whether spiritual or physical, God knows our valleys, He has established their purpose, and He sets their boundaries in our lives (Psalm 104:9).  God has a purpose for the wilderness and valley times of our lives, and He will ultimately use them to bring us hope (Hosea 2:14-15).  Cling tightly to the truth that your God is with you and committed to bringing you through the valley and helping you to know His hope and peace.

2) What difference does God being “with me” make?
Do you live in a place where you are aware that you have a with me God?  Don’t give the quick, easy answer.  Take a minute.  Really reflect and think deeply.  Are you trying to just survive on your own?  Are you working to keep yourself afloat in the midst of a mess?  Do you feel abandoned and alone?  If any of these are true, they are indicators that you’ve forgotten this reality.  Take in the truth of Psalm 42:8 and let it penetrate deeply into your heart:  “The Lord will send his faithful love by day; his song will be with me in the night…”

3) What do God’s “rod and staff” have to do with comfort?
“He comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God.  For just as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so also through Christ our comfort overflows,” 2 Corinthians 4:5-6.  As our Shepherd, God extends to us the same comfort that David knew.  And God doesn’t offer this to us in “some” of our afflictions, but in ALL of them.  He never leaves us; He never ignores our pain.  He is our Good Shepherd and cares for every need we, His sheep, may face during every season and place in our lives. Not only that, He then asks us to extend that comfort to others around us.  If you are facing a valley or darkness right now, how do you need to allow God’s comfort to penetrate your heart?  If you are not in your own valley, who around you needs to know this comfort from you?

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Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Find super awesome stuff like “origin”, “definition”, and even all the different ways that single word has been translated into English! If you want to be geeky, you can even click the word and hear its original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

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