Day 52: You Are With Me
Read: Psalm 23:1–6
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 (ESV)
Reflect
Read Psalm 23 slowly and you will notice something about the pronouns.
Verses 1–3 speak about God. "He makes me lie down." "He leads me." "He restores my soul." David is describing his Shepherd, the way you might describe a friend to someone else.
Then, in verse 4, he walks into the valley. The phrase "shadow of death" is one Hebrew word meaning deep darkness — the kind of dark where you cannot see your own hand.
And right there, the psalm changes direction. David stops talking about God and starts talking to him: "for you are with me." The word is 'immadi, "with me."
The darkest place in the psalm is where David gets closest. Nearness changes the way he speaks.
That is worth noticing, because many of us do the opposite. When life gets dark, we start talking about God — analyzing, explaining, wondering what he is doing. David does not explain the valley. He turns and speaks to the One beside him in it.
And the next verse keeps speaking to him: "You prepare a table before me." "You anoint my head with oil." Once he turned toward God in the dark, he kept facing him all the way to the table and the overflowing cup.
Across Scripture
In the Hebrew, Psalm 91 makes a similar turn toward God at verse 9, and God answers, "I will be with him in trouble" (Psalm 91:15). God promised Jacob, "I am with you and will keep you wherever you go" (Genesis 28:15), and told Isaiah's hearers, "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you" (Isaiah 43:2). Jesus' last words in Matthew are the same promise: "I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20).
Sit With It
If you are in a valley, stop talking about God for a moment and talk to him. Change your pronoun, and see what changes.
Pray
You are with me.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.