Psalm 23:4: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.”
The valley of the shadow of death is a real place. It is along the road going down from Jerusalem towards Jericho, which is located in the Jordan River Valley. It is still there today. It is a steep, winding road, with rocks and a huge cliff on the right side. Shepherds would walk in the deep valley below, in order to get from one place to another.
Here’s the kicker: the jagged rock formations of the valley walls would cast strange shadows on the road below. Sometimes, shepherds would panic in fear thinking they were seeing a jackal when it was only the shadow of a desert rabbit. That is why it is called “the valley of the SHADOW of death” and not “the valley of death.”
How many times have we spent hours, days, or weeks of our lives fearing what we thought was a raging predator when it was only, in fact, a furry rabbit? Chances are, the thing that you are dreading right now is merely only a shadow.
Mark Twain – “I’ve had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened.”
F.E.A.R. is an acronym for FALSE EVIDENCE APPEARING REAL.
-by Pastor Bojan Jancic