August 10, 2022

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Psalm 23:4

Where does this reality of presence, provision, discipline and hope occur? The psalmist establishes the setting of Psalm 23 in a death-shadowed valley, you would not be incorrect in understanding death’s shadow in terms of Genesis 2:15-17 and Romans 6:23. He speaks here of God’s presence, provision, comfort, and discipline “under the veil” of sin and its consequence. Even though God leads us through harrowing circumstances, we can draw comfort from God through his word - even when it is not present in our environment. Thinking about this valley - I cannot help but think about crows. Thanks to Edgar Allen Poe we associate crows and ravens with dusty dark rooms and impossibly depressing poetry - but in truth crows are curious, particularly when it comes to shiny things. So they gather objects that sparkle: coins, gum wrappers, and the like. That’s why crows are drawn to garbage, they’ll take the trash for the sake of what ever catches the sun. I think that, too often, we neglect God’s presence in things like the Bible, and settings like worship for similar reasons - we sift through trash for things that sparkle. If you happen to be in a moment where the death-shadowed valley seems to be crowding in, press into those things where God has promised to be found: His word in the Bible, prayer, his presence in gathered worship. Our ability to resist “shiny distractions” in the valley cannot be accomplished by shutting our eyes or escaping, but by turning them in the appropriate God-ward direction to see His help as it comes to us.

“Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of first-fruits of his creatures.”

James 1:16–18

-Matt Allhands