TUESDAY

Psalm 23:3-4; Isaiah 41:10

“Even though.” How much of our lives are lived in those “even though” places?

Even though verse three reminds us that God leads us in the right paths because that is who God is, there is the “even though” that often follows. Even though God created a beautiful world and beings designed to reflect God’s image in amazing ways, sin has wounded and damaged much.

And so, even though we find ourselves walking through places and experiences that testify to the woundedness of creation (sometimes in very dark ways), we don’t have to be afraid of the evil we encounter.

It does not say that we won’t feel anxious and fearful at times. Rather, it reflects the stance that David takes and invites us to take, in which we embrace the conviction that “I will fear no evil.”

We can know, no matter what we experience, that even when evil causes us pain, it has no ultimate power over us because of who we know is with us and never forsakes us. We are not alone. We are accompanied by the One who has already defeated evil, and who has both the power to ensure its ultimate demise and the means by which to guide and lead us even through dark places.

This is what Isaiah was also talking about in Isaiah 41:10. Powerful imagery here.

As you take a few moments to continue to reflect on the verses for today, consider the following:

• What sort of “even though” places are you (or perhaps someone you know) experiencing right now?

• How are you doing with anxiety about the shadowy or dark places? In spite of the anxiousness or fear we may be experiencing, in what ways can we still not, at the core of who we are, be afraid of the evil that may be expressed through them?

• How does knowing that God walks with us, even through dark and deadly places, strengthen and encourage us?

• Shepherds carried rods for defending their sheep from predators and staffs to help guide their sheep. In what ways do either or both of those images comfort you?

• To what extent are you, or those around you, able to rest in the reassuring comfort of the shepherd, even when the paths ahead look dark?

Take a few moments to share with God in prayer about what you are hearing in this part of the psalm or the accompanying passage.