Session 4: The Valley (Psalm 23:4)

SESSION GOALS

Every session has a point–what we want to walk away from the

discussion knowing, feeling, and doing.

Main Idea: Our hope in times of darkness is the presence of God, not
the resolution of our circumstances.

Head Change: To know that God is present with us as we walk through

times of suffering.

Heart Change: To feel confidence when facing difficulty based on the

comfort experienced through God’s presence.

Life Change: To reject any fears we have about suffering while in this
world, knowing that our true hope is in God and the comfort he brings.
READ
Read Psalm 23:1–6.

New King James Version

The LORD the Shepherd of His People
A Psalm of David.

The LORD is my shepherd;

I shall not want.
2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
4 Yea, 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.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the LORD
Forever.
Can an Old Testament psalm written thousands of years ago by King
David apply to us today? One of the ways in which we can be sure
that it does is through Jesus’s fulfillment of what Psalm 23 teaches.
When the Lord is our shepherd through faith in Jesus, we lack
nothing. He provides everything we need.

Take a minute to reflect on that truth. How has Jesus

demonstrated his provision to you over the last week?

In what ways has the Bible been more “real” to your daily life as
you have worked through this series?

What comes to mind when you hear the phrase “the valley of
the shadow of death”? What experiences have you witnessed in
your life or that of others that would fit what that phrase
suggests?
If verse 4—and Psalm 23 as a whole—are painting an accurate
picture of reality, do you believe Christians today have a good
understanding of what the Bible teaches about suffering? Do
you understand? Why or why not?
Biblical Suffering
Read more about biblical suffering in the following verses:
John 16:32–33;

New International Version

32 “A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered,

each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not
alone, for my Father is with me.
33 “Ihave told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In
this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the
world.”
Romans 5:1–5;
Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have
gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we
boast in the hope of the glory of God. 3 Not only so, but we also glory
in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces
perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And
hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured
out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to
us.
James 1:2–4
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face
trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your
faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so
that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Based on these passages, does suffering seem like an optional
experience for Christians in this world?

What is the purpose of suffering in our lives?

Think back to some of the times when you have faced a “dark night
of the soul,” as Matt described. How did you respond to your
circumstances?
How has it revealed to you the ways in which you might have
followed false shepherds? Where did you place your
confidence?
How does God’s presence remove our fear of evil? In what ways
would a deeper focus on God’s presence have changed the way
you responded to difficulty in the past?
What were you looking for in that false shepherd that it could
not provide?
Read John 10:7–13.
7 Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for
the sheep. 8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers,
but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever
enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and
find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I
have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
11 “Iam the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for
the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own
the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep
and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The
man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the
sheep.
How does Jesus feel about his sheep compared to the hired
hand?
In what ways should your faith in Christ be strengthened by the
truth that he, the creator of the world, cares for you and is with
us in our “dark night of the soul”?