Shepherd | Week 4

75 min

Pastor Daniel Goulding · Oct 4, 2020 · 5 min read · 75 min listen

Even when the seasons of our life change, our faith in God can remain constant, because valleys are inevitable and unpredictable, but also temporary and purposeful.

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Scripture in this message

Big Idea

Life with God includes both mountaintops and dark valleys, and that's not a sign He has left us. David wrote Psalm 23 looking back on a life full of both, and he shows us that valleys are part of a broken world, but they don't last forever and they aren't without purpose. Our job is to walk through them without fear, remembering God is present with us and fighting for us.

Key points

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1Valleys are inevitable — they are part of life in a broken world, not proof of God's absence or punishment for sin.
Pastor Daniel points to Deuteronomy 11:11, where God tells Israel the promised land itself contains mountains and valleys. He pushes back on the false idea that valleys only come from bad decisions, noting we can do everything right — go to church, pay tithes, pray — and still face cancer, job loss, or betrayal, simply because we live in a fallen world.
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2Valleys are unpredictable — they show up at the worst possible times, often in waves.
He shares the story of his house flooding the same morning his daughter was heading into surgery, and how trials seem to arrive with no warning. He turns to Jeremiah 4:20, where Jeremiah honestly warns Israel that captivity will bring sudden, crushing destruction, unlike the false prophets who promised an easy, short season.
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3Valleys are temporary — we're meant to walk through them, not live in them.
He notes David says 'even though I walk through the valley,' not camp or live there. He warns that the enemy's greatest lie is convincing someone to do something permanent about a situation that is by nature temporary, and encourages the church to remember hard seasons like COVID-19 will end.
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4Valleys are purposeful — pain refines us if we slow down instead of rushing to escape it.
Pastor Daniel observes David 'walks' rather than sprints through the valley, suggesting there's something to learn there. He reads 1 Peter 1, on trials proving faith genuine like fire refines gold, and explains that the most effective ministries often come out of seasons of real misery, giving us a unique ability to walk with others going through the same pain.
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5We have to refuse to be discouraged — choosing not to fear is a decision, not a feeling.
He highlights that David doesn't say there's no fear in the valley, but declares 'I will fear no evil' — an active choice made in the middle of the hard season. He connects this to the spirit of power, not fear, given to believers.
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6Remember that God is still with us — the ultimate becomes the intimate in hard seasons.
He points out that David shifts from talking about God in third person ('He does this') to speaking directly to Him ('You are with me') right at verse four. Pastor Daniel shares that the hardest seasons of his own life were the ones where he felt God closest, and that trials turn God from an idea into a being we actually experience.
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7We get to rely on God's protection — His rod and staff mean He fights battles we can't.
He explains the shepherd's rod and staff, retelling David's account of killing a lion and a bear with his own hands as a shepherd, and connects it to Jesus returning not as a lamb but as a conquering lion. He closes with a story of his brother calmly shooting a mouse that terrified his mother, showing how what overwhelms us is easily handled once we let God step in.

Application

Pastor Daniel's charge is that even when seasons change, our faith can remain — so we have to actually walk through the valley rather than camp in it or run from it.

Decide not to be afraid
Whatever valley you're in, make a declarative choice like David's 'I will fear no evil' rather than waiting for the fear to go away on its own.
Talk to God, not just about Him
Stop theorizing about God and start actually praying, bringing your mistakes and grumblings to Him like a child, and let Him remind you He's present.
Let God fight your battles
Stop trying to handle every threat on your own strength and invite God into the fight, trusting His rod and staff to protect and defend you.
Slow down and look for the lesson
Instead of praying only for the pain to end, ask God what He wants to teach you in the season, so the valley refines you instead of defining you.
Remember it's temporary and keep walking
Don't set up permanent camp or make permanent decisions in a temporary season; keep putting one foot in front of the other until you come out the other side.

Take it into your week

Scripture in this message

From the transcript
“we are going to continue in our series, the good shepherd, looking at one of the most famous passages in the Bible, Psalm chapter 23”
From the transcript
“Psalm 23, are we there? Yes. There we go. Psalm 23. We're gonna read all of verses one through four”
From the transcript
“Here's verse four. You're gonna feel like you're at a funeral. I promise you we're not. It says, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death”
From the transcript
“Here's what the Bible says in Deuteronomy chapter 11. It says, but the land that you are crossing, the Jordan to take possession of, is a land of mountains and valleys that drinks rain from heaven”
From the transcript
“Here's how first Peter chapter four verse 12 says this. He says, dear friends, don't be surprised at the fiery trials that you are going through as if something strange were happening to you”
From the transcript
“Here's what the prophet Jeremiah says in Jeremiah chapter four. He's trying to prepare the nation of Israel what it's gonna be like to live in captivity in Jeremiah chapter four verse 20. I'll read it right here. It says, waves of destruction roll over the land until it lies in complete desolation”
From the transcript
“Here's how First Peter says this in chapter one. It says that these trials will show that your faith is genuine. It's being tested as fire tests and purifies gold”
From the transcript
“The first thing, if we find ourselves in the dark valleys, we have to make a decision not to be discouraged. Look at Psalm 23 verse four. David says that even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil”
From the transcript
“There's a verse in the Bible that I think about a lot. John ten ten says that Jesus has come so that you and I can have life and life abundantly”
From the transcript
“Just so you know, Psalms 23, here's what he says. He says, I will fear no evil for you are with me. And then he says, your rod and your staff, they comfort me”

7-day devotional

A personal reading plan from this message — scripture, reflection, and prayer for each day.

Day 1

Before Israel ever set foot in the promised land, God told them what to expect: mountains and valleys. Not mountains only. Not a flat, easy plain where nothing could surprise them. Mountains and valleys — built right into the landscape of the life God was giving them. Pastor Daniel pointed to this in the sermon, and it's worth sitting with. The promised land was not a valley-free zone. It was a land where valleys were part of the design. That reframes everything. If you are in a hard season right now, that does not mean you took a wrong turn or that God's promises have failed. It may mean you are exactly where He always said you would be — in a land that includes difficulty alongside abundance. David understood this. He wrote Psalm 23 not as a man who had avoided the valley, but as a man who had walked through it and found God faithful on the other side. The valley does not cancel the promise. It is part of the terrain of the promised life. Knowing that the valley was anticipated — even named in advance — is not meant to discourage you. It is meant to steady you. You were not blindsided, even if it felt that way. God was not.

For reflection

How does knowing that valleys are built into the landscape of a life with God — not a sign that something has gone wrong — change the way you are thinking about what you are facing right now?

Pray

Pray for honest trust that the valley you are in does not mean God's promises have failed.

Small-group discussion guide

For leading a group conversation about this message.

Open

This message centers on a single, striking line from one of Scripture's most beloved poems — and what it might mean that the Good Shepherd leads us through dark valleys, not around them.

Discussion questions

1
In Psalm 23:4, David says he walks 'through' the valley of the shadow of death. What do you think that word 'through' is meant to communicate about the nature of the valleys we face?
2
Pastor Daniel pointed out that in verse four of Psalm 23, David shifts from speaking *about* God to speaking *directly to* Him — 'You are with me,' 'Your rod and staff.' What might that shift tell us about what happens to a person's relationship with God in hard seasons?
3
Deuteronomy 11:11 describes the promised land itself as a place of mountains and valleys. How does it change the way we understand a valley season to know that God told His people to expect them even in the land He was giving them?
4
First Peter 1:7 compares trials to fire that refines gold. Pastor Daniel connected this to the idea that valleys are purposeful — that our pain can give us a unique ability to help others walking through similar darkness. How might a community like ours actually make that happen in practice?
5
Pastor Daniel described David's 'I will fear no evil' as a declarative choice — not the absence of fear, but a refusal to yield to it. What is the difference between those two things, and why does that distinction matter for how we read this psalm?
6
Pastor Daniel challenged us to stop fighting every battle alone and to invite God in, trusting His rod and staff even against threats we cannot see. As a group, what does it look like — in everyday life — to actually rely on God's protection rather than just believe in it?

Pray together

God's nearness in the valley — that He would be not just a doctrine we hold but a presence we feel, especially for anyone in the group walking through something hard right now

Ask Rewind about this message

Scripture in this message

Shepherd | Week 4

Big Idea

Key points

Application

Take it into your week

Scripture in this message

7-day devotional

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

Small-group discussion guide

Open

Discussion questions

Pray together

Go deeper

Shepherd | Week 6

Shepherd | Week 1

Iconic Jesus  Part 4

Essentials | Week 2

Playlist For | Week 2

Never Enough | Week 2

Shepherd | Week 4

The big idea

Ask Rewind about this message

Scripture in this message

Big Idea

Key points

Application

Take it into your week

Scripture in this message

7-day devotional

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

Small-group discussion guide

Open

Discussion questions

Pray together

Go deeper

Shepherd | Week 6

Shepherd | Week 1

Iconic Jesus  Part 4

Essentials | Week 2

Playlist For | Week 2

Never Enough | Week 2