So, it doesn’t matter who you are.  Sooner or later you’re going to find yourself standing front of the valley that King David made famous in the 23^rd Psalm.  You’re going to find yourself standing in front of the valley of the shadow of death.

By the way I should point out that Biblical scholars will tell you that the valley of the shadow of death might not be the best way to translate that verse.  It might be better to translate the verse with the words valley of deep darkness.

Now I know that probably bothers a lot of people.  After all when it comes to the Bible some people are a lot like the elderly man who wasn’t very happy when he came out of church one morning.  “Reverend,” he said, “I don’t know why you need to use that modern translation of the Bible.  After all if the King James Version was good enough for the Apostle Paul it should be good enough for us!”

In the end it really doesn’t matter which translation you like best.  The question still remains.  What are you going to do when you find yourself standing in front of that scary, sad and stressful valley?  How are you going to make it through that valley?  

People turn to a lot of different things to help get them through that valley.   Some people light up a cigarette.  Some people pour themselves a drink.  Some people go to the medicine cabinet and take a pill.  Some people, like me, reach for a big bag of M&M’s.  Now you may think that sounds silly but I’m going to you right now that it really works.  I can’t explain it but when I’m overdosing on M&M’s life doesn’t seem quite so scary or sad or stressful.  Maybe that’s why someone recently gave me a special magnet to put on my refrigerator.  The magnet says, “I’d give up chocolate but I’m not a quitter.”

People rely on lots of things to get them through that scary, sad and stressful valley.  Some people get the credit card out and head for the mall.  What does that bumper stick say? “When the going gets tough the tough go shopping?”

People turn to lots of different things to help get them though that valley, but here’s the thing.  The cigarettes and the drink and the pills and the chocolate and the shopping and maybe even a little help from your friends and loved ones will get you through that valley.  The question though is when you get to the other side of that valley will you be a better person?   Will you be a stronger person? Will you be a more loving person?

David knew that the best way to go through the valley is with God.  That’s why the psalm says, “Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for thou art with me.” 

Some people do turn to God to help get them through that scary, sad and stressful valley, but they what really want is a God who’s going to make it easy for them.  They want a God who’s going to show them a short cut around the valley.  Or they want a God who’s going to somehow make the valley go away. 

A lot people today want a God who makes things quick and easy; no muss no fuss.  That’s the God that a little boy wanted and he made that very clear to his pastor one Sunday morning.  The Children’s Message that morning was about creation. The pastor told the children how God made the stars and apple trees and mountains and chipmunks.  The little boy listened to the pastor tell him how God made everything.  Finally he raised his hand and with a frown on his face said, “God may have made everything but He didn’t make my bed this morning.”

That’s not the way God works though. God isn’t there make that valley go away.  God is there to help you make it through that valley. God is there to walk with you through that valley and help you discover in yourself strength and courage and wisdom and love that you didn’t even know was there. 

When you walk through that valley with God you’re going to emerge on the other side of that valley a better person, a stronger person and a more loving person.  That’s why I really like a poem that was written about 30 years ago by a woman named Claudia Minden Weisz.  On her website she says that the poem came to shortly after she attended a Gaither Family Concert in Seattle.  What you also need to know is that when she wrote the poem she was beginning a journey through a stressful, sad and scary valley of her own.  It was a journey through a valley that brought her face to face with one of the worst nightmares a mother can face.  You see Claudia Minden Weisz had just learned that her daughter Angela was suffering from a rare disorder known as Rett Syndrome.  It’s a neurological disorder that affects mostly young girls.  What happens is they begin to withdraw socially. They lose their ability to speak and suffer from seizers and scoliosis. Eventually the girls end up severely disabled.

With that in mind this is what she wrote,

I asked God to take away my pride.

God said, “No.  It is not for me to take away, but for you to give up.”

I asked God to make my handicapped child whole.

God said, “No.  Her spirit is whole.  Her body is only temporary.”

I asked God to grant me patience.

God said, “No. Patience is a byproduct of tribulations; it is not granted, it is earned.

I asked God to give me happiness.

God said, “No. I give you blessings. Happiness is up to you.”

I asked God to spare me pain.

God said, “No. Suffering draws you apart from worldly cares and brings you  closer to me.”

I asked God to make my spirit grow.

God said, “No. You must grow on your own, but I will prune you to make you fruitful.”

I asked for all things that I might enjoy life.

God said, “No. I will give you life so that you may enjoy all things.”

I ask God to help me LOVE others, as much as he loves me.

God said... “Ahhhh, finally you have the idea.”

Life is full of scary, sad and stressful valleys full of headaches and heartache and there isn’t a blessed thing you can do about it.  The question is how are you going to make it through that valley?  All I’m suggesting is that if you go through the valley with God you’re going to be a better stronger and more loving person when you get to the other side. Yea thou I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for though art with me. Yea though I walk through the valley of deep darkness I will fear no evil for thou art with me.”   Amen.

Rev. Dr. Richard A. Hughes

April 13, 2008