Reflection:  In C.S. Lewis’ The horse and his boy, Shasta feels heartsore as he treads a lonely path—and a treacherous one, it turns out—through the encroaching night. But out of the darkness, a voice speaks to him words of comfort and companionship. Shasta slowly realises that while he has certainly felt alone, he has never actually been alone. The great lion Aslan, Lewis’ Jesus figure, has been at Shasta’s side through every trial of his life, and is beside him even now. The next morning, Shasta discovers that he’d been walking near a precipice all night. But he was quite safe. Aslan had always walked between Shasta and the edge of the cliff: all that stood between Shasta and sure disaster.

I do not know if Lewis had Psalm 23 in mind when he wrote this scene, but it is a vivid depiction that God is an ever-present comfort to us, no matter what dark paths we tread.

Prayer:  Gracious Father, help me sense your presence when I find myself in any of life’s dark valleys. Speak your comfort to me, surround me with your presence, and stay with me through every trial. Amen.