Down In The Valley

Psalm 23

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.  He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.  He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.  Yea, 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.  You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;  You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.   Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

 

Most of us have passed through the valley that King David talks about many times.  Often we have walked through it with no one to keep us safe or guide us.  Sometimes we have even fallen down and wallowed in the mire for a while.  We only do this because, unlike King David, we try to do things on our own instead of asking God to help us.

There is an old English tale of a boy and his father clearing a path through the woods.  The boy is twelve years old and thinks of himself as totally grown up.  As the boy and his father are clearing a path, the boy steps over too far and begins to sink in an area of quicksand.  He glances at his father, who is busy cutting down small bushes, and decides that he can pull himself out of the mess he is in and not bother his father.  Unfortunately, the more he struggles to pull himself free, the deeper he sinks.  Although the father is only a few feet away, the boy is too proud to ask for his help.  As the boy’s face begins to sink under the muck, he yells his father’s name.  The father quickly turns and pulls the boy to safety.

This story always reminds me of the 23^rd Psalm.  If we would only let God lead us and care for us, we would save ourselves from so many problems and downfalls that we suffer through.  That big issue called pride causes us to go through things that could easily be avoided.

I guess most of us are raised to be brave, want to get ahead, be the best and have the power.  Instead, we should want to be like sheep following the Shepherd.  Sounds too nerdy and passive for most of us.  It sure would save us a lot of problems if we would "follow" instead of "lead"!

“Father we thank you for helping us even when we try to do things on our own and get ourselves into big messes.  We thank You for not letting us sink into the mud, but for reaching down and pulling us out.  We pray that we will learn to always ask you to be with us, guide us and help us through life.  We ask this in Jesus’s name, Amen.”