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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
as far as questions go, there is not another question that demands more of our faith, pushes our intellect to the limit, and requires a greater expression of trust than the question of why bad things happen…and the companion questions regarding god’s role, god’s location, god’s purpose, and even god’s existence.
i imagine a lifetime is still not quite enough time to exhaust the depth of this discussion. but i found great comfort this past year from an unlikely source…the 23rd psalm. as i preached through the psalm last winter, i got to the fourth verse and realized that i had never really come to an adequate understanding of it’s meaning. but because i had methodically gone through the text leading up to the verse, the meaning became more than clear.
sheep go through valleys for different reasons. sometimes they go through them because the shepherd intentionally leads them there. they are led through valleys to get to higher ground where there is better food. sometimes, they are led through valleys because they are necessary paths on the way to the destination. still other times, sheep are led through valleys in order to return home…even though they are treacherous and full of danger, they are the only way to get home…and the shepherd knows it.
sheep also go through valleys because they are notorious wanderers. they easily get off track and go down roads they have no business going down. they ignore the careful leading of the shepherd and end up in peril and danger and sickness because they ignorantly trust their own instincts.
there are still other times that sheep end up in valleys because valleys are an inevitable part of a sheep’s world. in other words, valleys come with the territory. as bad and as dangerous as they are, they are part of natural contour of the land where sheep roam. sometimes they are led there. sometimes they wander there because of their own stupidity and hard-headedness. and sometimes it just happens.
do you see the lesson? we are sheep. sometimes bad things happen to us because we are led there. on purpose. by the design and determination of the shepherd. for our own good. to get us to higher ground…to greater nourishment…to a better place.
other times, just like sheep, we end up in valleys…bad places…difficult circumstances…gut-wrenching, dangerous, life-on-the-edge situations simply because we are stupid and prone to wander…going our own way, instead of following the gracious, loving direction of our shepherd.
and then there are other times that we walk through valleys, because valleys (bad things) are just an inevitable part of living in a fallen world…part of the contour of the landscape of life as we know it.
for me, it doesn’t get much more complicated this. what about you?
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