by R. Douglass Mahaffey
King David wrote hundreds of songs that were compiled into one book of the Bible called Psalms. In the 23rd Psalm, David made mention of the Valley of the Shadow of Death. He spoke about the comfort that he had in the Lord when danger came upon him. When he was a boy, a lion tried to kill him and his father's flock of sheep. Because David trusted in God and took heart against the beast, he overcame the threat of death as the lion fell at his feet. But did you know that the valley that David spoke of was an actual place?
It is believed traditionally, that as Mary and Joseph were traveling from Nazareth to Bethlehem before Jesus was born, that the valley between Jericho and Bethlehem was a spot where Mary stopped to rest as she was weary from travel and very pregnant with Jesus. In fact, she would give birth to Jesus only a day or so later after arriving in Bethlehem. This valley where she rested was the same valley where David tended his father's sheep; the Valley of the Shadow of death.
The name was given to the valley because of the dangers that lurked within the walls of the canyons in the mountain range east of Bethlehem. Many wild, treacherous animals made their homes in the range of mountains. So why would Mary and Joseph travel that path? Why would Jesse have his young son David watch his flock in that region? West of the town of Bethlehem, where David lived, Samaritans robbed and plundered and were a threat to anyone who passed that way. People would have rather have trusted the dangers of the animals than the cunning of the band of thieves that came from Samaria.
David wrote of still waters and green pastures that the Lord led him through. Even though the majority of the land between Bethlehem and Jericho was desert and wilderness with all kinds of dangers around every corner, the peace that passed all of his fleshly understanding came upon him as his faith in God was greater than his fear of the wilderness. No matter what he faced as far as dangers of the world, that peace from his faith in God helped him to press on. Even when facing the Giant Philistine, Goliath of Gath, David showed no fear, but stood with all authority under heaven, given to him by God, as he told Goliath that because he blasphemed God and did not have respect and reverence for the Lord, he was going to fall to Israel. He pressed on and won the fight.
Metaphoric valleys are an every day occurrence in our lives that come upon us and test our faith. God says in the His word that we are to take it as a blessing when trials and valleys come our way, because they are how we grow in the strength and victory of the Lord so that He is glorified. When we try to handle the situation on our own, we fall flat on our faces and run away like a scalded dog, instead of standing in victory and overcoming adversity by allowing God to lead us in our circumstances. And sadly, all too often, we allow our circumstances to dictate our direction in life. Avoiding trials when they come does us no good. Situations don't just disappear when we ignore them. Bills don't pay themselves.
Calling upon the name of the Lord will afford us the victory over our struggles and trials. When we do, He will be faithful to deliver us from evil. We have not because we ask not, or we ask for the wrong reasons. When we pray, we need to pray for God's will to be done, not just pray asking for vain things like winning the lottery or winning the heart of the lady or man that caught our eyes. That might not be what the Lord has for us. When we choose to go around the blessings that God has for us by wanting things of this world, the Bible says that we grieve the Holy Ghost.
Seek the will of God and His righteousness, and He will add it unto you. Pray that His will be done and not our own. Even Jesus, who had every right to ask for what He wanted because of His righteous perfection, asked for God's will to be done, knowing He was facing death of the cross. When we seek the will of God, He will reveal it to us and our reward will be an eternal one.
R. Douglass Mahaffey - Founder and Publisher of The Wise Conservative
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