By WINDS OF DESTINY
In my newest novel, Winds of Destiny, I got hung up on a quote that came out of my head. It is from Psalm 23 Verse 4: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.”
Let me preempt this blog post with the same thing that happened when writing FAITH – Seventy Times Seven. I got hung up on the scripture of forgiveness… Seventy Times Seven. To this day, I am still confused about this one single line of scripture. No matter, I will one day come to understand it.
From time to time, I pull a scripture out of my head and plug it into one of my novels. Today, two lovers, one good and the other evil, are trying to figure out how to face the danger of breaking the law. In this writing, I used Psalm 23 Verse 4.
My wife of 45 years, Barbara, sits across me and is my “go-to” person when it comes time for analyzing what something means. I am offering this blog to my readers who have stood in church and said, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil (or danger) for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff they comfort (reassure) me.
I am sure throughout my lifetime, I have said this exact verse in church or at home a million times (a figure of speech.) I know it by memory. But, not one time have I really sat down and thought about all that is involved in one simple verse. I did so today before continuing the writing of The Winds of Destiny! (Oh, this novel is a Romance Mystery)
- What is the Shepherd providing in this verse? We see him giving protection for his sheep.
- Supposedly, if you study all the maps of Israel, which I have not, you will find that there is actually a Valley of the Shadow of Death located somewhere in the southern region. This valley is very perilous. The sides of the cliffs are straight up and down almost. The ‘valley is dark. There are packs of wolves waiting in the lower part of the valley. They await the sheep that fall off their paths and tumble down to their hungry mouths below. So, to describe my situation in the novel, I talk about a very dark valley. It is so dark, it is a deadly shadow. It is definitely a location where sheep would fear the danger and evil that lurks there. Imagine it getting dark at night, and the wolves come out to kill anyone… sheep or humans.
- In the Old Testament, seen in my novel, GENESIS, and followed up with HALLELUJAH, King David, before he was king, says that God leads him in all the right paths. Sometimes he found an occasion to fear, such as the Giant. In this novel, you can follow David through deathly dark valleys.
- In these darkened valleys, God is the Shepherd. He provided David with protection. That is how the victor over the Giant feared no evil or any danger. He didn’t fear danger, and neither should we!
- Let’s take a look at the staff of the Shepherd. When writing a book, an author must analyze different parts of some of the statements they make. I needed to describe the staff held by David. There is a part where the scripture says, ‘His rod and staff will comfort me.’ Vision the staff. There is a crook at the end of it. Why? It is to reach down if the sheep begin to fall off the path and pull the sheep back out of the pits of danger and get him on the right path… the safe path. While doing that, the other end is used to beat off the wolves.
- Think about it. How many times have we been pulled out of the pits by Our Wonderful Shepherd? How many times have the enemies of our souls been beaten back by his staff?
Watch for THE WINDS OF DESTINY coming to your local book store in May. It is moving faster along than most due to this quarantine that most of us are experiencing. Be sure to stay tuned for this next release and remain safe from this terrible virus!
HAPPY READING!!! Sidney St. James.
THE SIDNEY ST. JAMES SHOW 