Another Favorite Bible Verse

Another favorite Bible verse I have is probably one that you are familiar with. It is from Psalm 23, although it is not the famous verse 1:

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

My favorite verse from Psalm 23 is verse 4:

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me . . .

Now, there is no doubt that Psalm 23 is one of those Psalms that give us comfort and encouragement. There has been devotionals and books about Psalm 23. I personally have preached sermon series and taught Bible studies on Psalm 23 and every time, the verse that hits me the most is verse 4.

Here the Psalmist, King David, says that even in life’s most frightening situations, we can be confident of God’s guiding presence. Indeed, when God is with us, the valley of the shadow of death is one of the right paths that we go through. Here the psalmist states that life will not always be a bed of roses, that in fact there will be challenges and suffering, but that we should not fear because the Good Shepherd does not send His sheep into places He will not go; He leads and is with us always.

The second part of verse 4 says,

. . . your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

This is the very center of the Psalm. That is to say that God’s guidance, rescuing, protection (your rod), and God’s support (your staff) will give us comfort and give us reassurance that we belong to Him.

Psalm 23 was one of those psalms that I was asked to memorize at a young age. It has helped throughout my life. I encourage you to read Psalm 23 today. Here is a link to the Bible App. Also, if you can, memorize this Psalm because it will give you comfort in those frightening situations you face.

Photo Credit: Photo by Daniel Burka on Unsplash