THE PILGRIM
CHAPTER 10
WEEK 3 – WEDNESDAY
Christian in the Valley of the Shadow of Death
Christian suffers many afflictions in the Valley of the Shadow of Death; but, having learned by experience how necessary it is to walk vigilantly, he resorts to the sword and to prayer, thus passing through safely and without the slightest harm.
As soon as he had crossed the boundary separating the Valley of Humiliation from the Valley of the Shadow of Death, he encountered two men hurrying back: they were descendants of those who had set the land on fire that he had seen (Num. 13:33). Christian asked them where they were going.
Men – Back, back: if you value your life and peace, we advise you to turn back immediately!
Christian – Why?
Men – We were walking in the direction you're going, and went forward as far as our boldness would allow, but we don’t even know how we managed to return, for had we gone a few steps further, we certainly wouldn't be here now to warn you.
Christian – But what did you encounter?
Men – What did we encounter? We were almost in the middle of the Valley of the Shadow of Death; but fortunately, we looked ahead and spotted the danger before we got closer (Psalm 44:19).
Christian – What danger?
Men – What danger? The very valley itself, black as pitch. We saw ghosts, werewolves, and dragons of the abyss. Then came continual moaning and screaming, like people in the most shameful distress, suffering the greatest afflictions and tortures. Horrible clouds of confusion hover over the valley, and death constantly spreads its black wings above it. In a word, everything there is horror, everything is dreadful chaos (Job 3:5-10,22).
Christian – From what you say, I am more and more persuaded that this is the path I must take to reach the desired harbor (Psalm 44:18).
Men – If you think it’s good, go on; for us, it’s not.
And they parted ways with Christian, who continued on his way, keeping his sword drawn, fearing attack.
And in my dream, I looked out over the whole length of the valley. I saw, to the right of the road, a very deep pit where the blind have led the blind throughout the ages, all perishing miserably. On the left, I saw an extremely dangerous mire, where anyone who falls in—no matter how good—cannot find footing; King David once fell there, and would surely have drowned had He who has the power not delivered him (Psalm 69:14).
The path was so narrow that Christian walked with great difficulty, for, being in darkness, if he tried to move away from the pit, he risked falling into the mire, and if he tried to avoid the mire, he was in danger of falling into the pit. Thus he walked, sighing bitterly, because in addition to the dangers already mentioned, the way was so dark that if he lifted one foot to take a step, he didn’t know where he would place it next.
About halfway through this valley, the mouth of hell opened beside the path.
Upon arriving there, Christian’s situation was horrible; he didn’t know what to do; he saw flames and smoke pouring out in such quantity, mingled with sparks and infernal roars, that recognizing the sword with which he had defeated Apollyon would be of no use to him, he decided to sheath it and take up another weapon—that is, the weapon of prayer (Ephesians 6:18)—and thus he cried out: “O Lord, deliver my soul” (Psalm 116:4).
And he went on, surrounded from time to time by terrible flames. At other times he heard sorrowful wailing, rushing from side to side, making him think he would be crushed or trampled like the mud of the streets. This horrible sight and these terrifying noises accompanied him for several leagues of the way.
Finally, he came to a place where he thought he heard a legion of enemies approaching. So he stopped and began to think seriously about what he should do. On the one hand, it seemed better to turn back, but on the other, he remembered that he might already be more than halfway through the valley. He also recalled that he had already overcome many dangers, and that the risk of going back might be greater than pressing forward; therefore he resolved to continue. But as the enemies seemed to draw closer and almost touch him, he cried out with all his strength: I will walk in the strength of the Lord. At these words, the enemies fled, and did not pursue him any further.
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