Not a Time to Lie Down

I don’t know how many times I have read or heard Psalm 23. It must be at least a hundred times! Despite it being so incredibly familiar, I felt God highlight something to me last week I had genuinely never noticed before (though it seems so obvious in hindsight). It’s the use of verbs all the way through the Psalm. Amongst others we find to lie down in green pastures, to walk through the valley of the shadow of death, to dwell in the house of the LORD and (presumably) to recline at the table.

There are times when all we are being asked to do is to enjoy lying down and resting. What wonderful times these are! But other times, there is some serious walking to do. Even when being led ‘beside the still waters’ or ‘in the paths of righteousness’ our legs will have to do some work. Never does this activity on our part feel more important than when we are facing the dark valleys.

When we are facing darkness, opposition, depression, or loss, then the temptation for us is to just lie down. We want to quit and give up. But that way we are in danger of staying stuck in the valley, perhaps forever. That is not something the Lord wants for us. It seems to be the place the enemy wants to suck us into.

Getting out of a ‘stuck place’ is never easy. It requires tremendous will-power, energy, and determination. We need the Lord to strengthen and enable us to get up and move on, step by step, trudging through the valley, until one day the sky clears again.

In a real valley we cannot move sideways. There is just no quick way out. The only way through is to go forward, and for that we will need to walk. No one else can do it for us. We ourselves will need to put one foot in front of the other until the darkness lifts and lighter vistas appear in view once more.

If you find yourselves in greenish pastures, then by all means lie down. But if you’re going through a hard time, please don’t. Instead, just keep on walking. This difficult time will end.

We are required to keep on moving, even if it seems to be at a sluggish pace. He is there with us and not every day of our life will be spent in the valley of the shadow of death. He has much blessing in store for us.

Press on!