Your Shepherd Protects You
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:4 NIV
1. When you are in the valley, keep walking.
“Even though I walk..” Psalm 23:4a NIV. “though” Hebrew word (gam ki), a concessive conjunction, means that the valley isn’t hypothetical, it's inevitable.
I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world. John 16:33 NLT
2. With God, many times the way is through.
“..through the darkest valley..” Psalm 23:4a NIV
“...through the valley of the shadow of death..” Psalm 23:4a ESV
3. The depth of your valley doesn’t change the presence of your Shepherd.
“I will fear no evil, for you are with me..” Psalm 23:4b NIV
The Lord himself watches over you! The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade. Psalm 121:5 NLT
As shepherds go after their flocks when they get scattered, I’m going after my sheep. I’ll rescue them from all the places they’ve been scattered to in the storms. I’ll bring them back.. Ezekiel 34:12-13a MSG
4. Take comfort! God protects you and guides you through your darkest valleys.
…your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:4 NIV
Protection: “But David persisted. “When I am taking care of my father’s sheep,” he said, “and a lion or a bear comes and grabs a lamb from the flock, I go after it with a club [rod] and take the lamb from its mouth. If it turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. I have done this to both lions and bears, and I’ll do it to this heathen Philistine too, for he has defied the armies of the living God!” 1 Samuel 17:34-36 TLB
Guidance is rescuing: The true children of God are those who let God’s Spirit lead them. Rom.8:14 NCV
Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” Isaiah 30:21 NIV
Message Notes: The Holy Bible, New International Version, New Living Translation, New Century Version, English Standard Version. The Living Bible, paraphrased translation. The Message, by Eugene Peterson. A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, by Phillip Keller.