I take them often – wild side walks that is. These walks that I’ve been taking give new meaning to the term “concrete jungle.” because these walks aren’t exactly nature walks. Instead of being surrounded by scenic views and bird calls as I walk, I am surrounded by the sounds of traffic, cars backfiring, sirens wailing, horns honking, in addition to the sounds of heavy machinery on the ground and helicopters overhead. No, I am not walking through a war zone, well not technically or literally anyway. I am simply walking during my break around the inner-city high school where I work.

This high school is located on a very busy main street close to the interstate, which explains the constant high volume of traffic surrounding the school. It is close to downtown and a few blocks from the medical center, which accounts for the helicopters landing at the heliport on one of the hospitals there. (or maybe they are traffic helicopters? I can’t tell the difference) The old football stadium has been torn down and a brand new one is being constructed in its place, which is why all the bulldozers and other such big machinery have been operating during my daily walks. Only a chain link fence separates me and the other pedestrians from the noise and activity of all the large earth moving trucks and other heavy machinery operating there every day.

So it is a different kind of a jungle that I walk in every day. I don’t have to watch out for dangerous wild animals, just dangerous traffic. I don’t hear bird calls, I hear sirens growing louder, closer, then fading into the distance. I don’t walk on a dirt path, but on a concrete sidewalk. After all, I am in a concrete jungle. Maybe this concrete jungle is actually more dangerous than any African jungle or Amazon jungle? Actually, both jungles are full of pitfalls and perils. These may be different, but they are equally real and equally challenging.

Ironic isn’t it? I choose to walk on my break in order to focus and find a few moments of peaceful tranquility before I return to the noise and chaos of the classroom, and instead I find myself walking through the noise and chaos of the concrete jungle I have just described to you. Gives new meaning to the expression – “it’s a jungle out there” for sure. It would appear that no matter where I walk, I will face challenges. Whether the possibility of poisonous snakes and prowling lions in the real jungle, or the dangers of fast moving traffic and heavy machinery in the concrete jungle – life is certainly no walk in the park.

The apostle Peter apparently figured this out centuries ago, because he wrote to believers saying, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)

It seems to me that no matter where I walk, I will encounter some degree of difficulty and danger. Some environments are more dangerous than others. Some roads are just harder to walk than others. For me what matters most is not where I am walking, whether that be a peaceful path or an impossibly steep and slippery slope, but who is walking with me. This makes all the difference in my journey and in its outcome.

Case in point – Daniel’s three friends. Talk about your walk on the wild side. I don’t think “furnace walking” is a thing (unlike glacier walking or creek walking) but Daniel’s three friends were forced to do this by an angry king wanting to prove a point. Now a furnace is not an ideal environment for a walk (so much for the where) BUT the who joining them on this walk made all the difference in the outcome of their walk on the wild side. We join the story in progress –

“So these men, wearing their robes, trousers, turbans and other clothes, were bound and thrown into the blazing furnace. The king’s command was so urgent and the furnace so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who took up Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and these three men, firmly tied, fell into the blazing furnace. Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisers, ‘Weren’t there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?’ They replied, ‘Certainly, O king.’ He said, ‘Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods.’ ” (Daniel 3:21-25)

These three men weren’t alone in the furnace. God was right there with them, which accounted for the fact that they were no longer bound up but now walking around freely, unharmed. Our story continues –

“So Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego came out of the fire, . . . the fire had not harmed their bodies, nor was a hair of their heads singed; their robes were not scorched, and there was no smell of fire on them.” (Daniel 3:26-27)

For these three, their walk on the wild side did not end in disaster because of Who walked with them, which mattered much more than where they found themselves walking. I’m sure those three friends of Daniel never planned on having to walk through a furnace. Not a lot you can do to prepare for something like that. Even as I write these words I know too many dear people, friends and family, who are walking through something right now that none of us would choose because the path is painful and scary and hard.

These wheres none of us would choose. BUT – we can choose the who – who walks with us. And that makes all the difference. King David made a choice. He boldly declared –

“The Lord is my shepherd,” (Psalm 23:1)

The result of his choice of shepherd? “I shall not be in want.”

King David had to walk in some hard places. He said this –

“Even 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. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” (Psalm 23:4-5)

The valley of the shadow of death has to be one of the most dangerous, difficult places to walk if not the most treacherous of all. But David said he wasn’t afraid because of God’s presence walking with him, bringing him comfort. And not only that, David said God’s provision for him was abundant and overflowing while he was still walking in the valley. My Heavenly Father does the same for me every day no matter where I find myself walking. His presence goes with me, giving me comfort, protection and provision – even when, like King David, I am walking through “the valley of the shadow of death.”

I pray this knowledge for all my friends, family and for you dear readers – the knowledge of God’s everpresent presence abiding with you and with me, with each one of us, supplying all our needs even when we find ourselves walking in dark valleys. God is there. We have His promise on that. King David knew this. Must be why he wrote these words about God-

“You hem me in – behind and before; you have laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. Where can I go from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence? If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will guide me, Your right hand will hold me fast.” (Psalm 139:5-10)

How wonderful, how reassuring – to know that God is always present with me no matter where I go, no matter where I am walking, be it a concrete jungle or a dry desert. God is there. I will not be afraid. I will walk with confidence and purpose because Jesus promised –

“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)

sincerely, Grace Day