The Valley of Death and Faith’s Message

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me” Psalm 23:4. How does this verse in the Bible offer us faith in the valley of the shadow of death?

This week we will remember one of the darkest times in human history, the Holocaust. When Jewish families were torn apart and discarded and once vibrant men and women were diminished to bone and ash. Six million Jewish souls lost their lives at the hands of pure evil. For most of them, death did not come quickly. Their body, minds, and souls were tortured and tormented until the time when they walked quietly to their deaths. Those who survived endured an inner death beyond what most in the world could imagine. And yet, somehow, the survivors were able to put one foot in front of the other and rebuild their lives, families and build a strong nation.

We have a tendency to look at the atrocities of the world, shake our heads, and thank God it wasn’t us. But what if it was? How would we walk through such darkness? Would our faith be shaken to the core, or would we hold steadfast? Would we be inward-looking or proactively helping others through? We can never really know how we would respond. But what we can do is live our lives with the expectancy that our faith will endure whatever circumstances are set before us.

What Do We Do?

Most of us will never suffer something like the Holocaust. But we will endure hardships, financial burdens, difficult relationships, health issues, racial tensions and life traumas. Any of these things can challenge our faith. So what do we do about it? We could complain and moan with self-pity or we can put one foot in front of the other and walk through it. Faith is not the equivalent of victory. It does not promise an easy way out. It does not assure us that we will see an outcome. On the contrary, it enables us to endure and to hope even when we go through the darkest of times. “Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1

When we go through the pages of biblical history, there is no shortage of examples of men and women of faith.

• By faith Noah built an ark to save his family when everyone around him thought he was insane.
• By faith Abraham was willing to offer his only son, Isaac, as a sacrifice, even though God had said, “In Isaac, your descendants shall be called.”  Gen 21:12
• By faith Sarah, past her childbearing years, bore children whose descendants were as numerous as the stars in the sky.
• By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt.
• By faith Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt, through the Red Sea on dry ground, and to the Promised Land.
• By faith the walls of Jericho fell after the army had marched around them for seven days.
• By faith Gideon, Deborah and Samson judged over Israel and administered justice to the people.
• By faith Samuel anointed David to be King of Israel.
• By faith David brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem.
• By faith Solomon built the Holy Temple on Mt. Moriah.

The Challenge

All of these people were still living by faith when they died, even though they had not seen all the things promised come to pass yet. Instead, they lived with longing and hope for things to come.

The vast biblical examples of these men and women can encourage us to walk through life the same way. These people were not perfect. For the most part, God called on ordinary people to do extraordinary things. There was never a promise of an easy road. They were just people obeying the word of God and continuing on when things were tough. And because of this, many of them saw miracles happen.

Our hope: When our lives come to an end and all is said and done, may those who remember us add us to the list of people who lived by faith. And may the God who directs our lives tell us, “Well done good and faithful servant.”