There’s a verse we know well, one we quote in funerals and dark nights of the soul: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me…” (Psalm 23:4)

Written by David, yes, that David, the warrior, the psalmist, the man after God’s heart. Most scholars agree that Psalm 23 was penned later in his life, after he had lived through betrayal, cave, dwelling, war, loss, and his own moral failures. He knew valleys. He didn’t write this from a spa day in Jerusalem. He wrote this as a man who had walked with God in the dark.

But here’s what stands out:

He walked through.

He didn’t set up camp in the valley. He didn’t build a monument to despair. He didn’t unpack his trauma and stay stuck in the shadows. He kept moving. Because Psalm 23 was never written to romanticize suffering, it was written as a pilgrimage.

It’s a journey.

And maybe today that journey looks like just one movement. One breath. One whisper of a prayer. One foot in front of the other.

Even in the dullest of days, MOVE! 

Even when your soul feels like dry bones, make a sound.

Because those bones? They can live again. (Ezek 37)

My husband Matt always says, “C’mon, just one step.” And I want to scream that to you today, because not long ago, I needed someone to scream it at me. You will NOT stay here. Not in the shadow of death. Not in the wilderness.

Don’t you dare pitch your tent in yesterday’s pain.

Yes, the shadows are real. Yes, you’ll go through them. But you’re not alone. The promise was never a valley-free life. The promise is presence in the valley.

“You are with me…”

And surrounding you? That great cloud of witnesses (Heb 12:1) those who’ve gone before, shouting from heaven, “C’mon! Keep going! Don’t quit now!”

He will never leave you. He will never forsake you. (Deut 31:6) He will pull you up with His righteous right hand (Isaiah 41:10). And one day, He’ll say, “Sit here. Right next to Me. You good and faithful servant”.

So today, if all you can do is take one trembling step, do it.

Don’t stay. Don’t sulk. Don’t scratch old wounds.

Journey, beloved. Journey until you find the still waters. Until you’re lying down in green pastures. Keep going.

Just one step. 

Love V