Psalms

Driving Through the Notch

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Even though I walk through the valley of death I will fear no evil for you are with me. Your rod and your staff they comfort me. Psalm 23:4 ESV

During times of crisis, it is natural to be fearful. A few years ago, our airwaves were filled with the constant reports of quarantines and businesses shutting down. There had never been anything like it in our lifetimes, and we wondered what would happen next. Today, there are other crises happening that are like the dark valley of death in today’s verse. Each of us faces a little different valley, but what remains the same is that as we go through them, we have a hope because we have a good shepherd. whose name is Jesus, and He has promised to walk with us all the way through.

Outside the city where I was born lies a long valley called Sugar Hollow. It is a notch between the hills through which the main road coming up from the South runs into town. It is a pretty stretch of road, but one strange thing about Sugar Hollow is that as you drive into it during afternoon rush hour, it gets dark early. Everyone begins to flick on their headlights because the surrounding hills block out the sun, in the Hollow. All around it begins to look as if night has fallen; but as you round the final bend of the road that leads out of the valley, the shadows draw back, and the sun reappears as if saying “You made it through the notch again! Welcome home!” 

Prayer: Father God, help me to trust you in the valley I am walking through today and to remember that you have promised to be with me all the way through!
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Three Times at The Lord’s Table – Part One

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You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows. Psalm 23:5 NKJV

Even though sixty years have passed, I can still hear my mother loudly calling, “It’s almost time for supper Peter! Get a move on and set the table!” But in this verse, no one told the Lord to set the table. He chose to do so on HIs own, and now His call goes out us. “You who have walked with me through the valley of the shadow of death. Come sit down, it’s almost time for dinner!” On a side note, I learned from my years serving in a Brazilian church that this passage in Portuguese renders the first section of the verse, “You prepare a table before me while my enemies watch,” Reading that, helped me picture a banquet table set up in a green meadow lying just beyond the valley of the shadow of death. In the distance, hungry wolves watch as we are invited to sit down at our Shepherds table. They howl, remembering that even their most wicked attempts to destroy us have failed and that now they must watch the Lord feasting with us and then filling our cups to overflowing at His table! Are you in a dark valley right now? Take heart, our Shepherd will walk by our side in the darkness, and He has prepared a banqueting table for us to share in the sunshine at its very end.

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One Final Thought

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Let everything that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise Ye the Lord!
Psalm 150:6

My morning reading ended with the final chapter of Psalms. And as I paused to consider its message, I was struck by how God finishes with a personal call. Yes, we need to praise him with timbrels and dance, yes trumpet players, harpists and drummers should honor God too. Even birds, animals and fish are commanded to worship, when He says, “Everything that hath breath.” In earlier passages even sun, moon and stars, are directed to praise and thank God. But God wants us to know that we have an even more important place. Here, in this final phrase, of the last verse, God closes with the command: “Praise ye the Lord!” It is as if God is shouting, “Hey you! …Yes, I mean you there! …. Don’t just stand around waiting for someone else to do the job. You get busy and start praising God too!

So, let’s remember in the middle of the football, the turkey and family time that our number one job and most important part of our day is to give God praise!

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!