No one like’s walking through “the valley of the shadow of death.” There’s nothing fun about it. These are painful experiences filled with the unknown, fueled by fear and anxiety. At the same time, they are the most valuable times in our journey with God. It’s the valleys in our lives that teach us the secret to the sacred.
Everything important, life-changing, as well as life-transforming have all happened in my valley journeys. You see, when I’ve been in those dark times facing scary and daunting challenges, I have found myself on my knees before God seeking His wisdom and help. There’s nowhere else to go but God, no one else who can help and no one else who can provide the security and comfort my soul needs in those moments. It’s the Life of Jesus in me, and in you, that provides precisely what is needed to walk through the impossible and not only survive, but grow and thrive.
We can’t predict what life holds for us. The Bible says in Matthew 5:45 that “the rain falls on the unrighteous and the righteous alike.” We live in a fallen world and in evil times; consequently, none of us will escape the pain and suffering that results. We are all subject to loss and pain, but it’s through the loss and pain that we can find the secret to the sacred, which is the living God in us who is greater and sufficient for anything we might encounter here. His love and faithfulness will lift us up out from under the burden and He will be our strength when we are weak and without hope. The life of Jesus is sacred and that life belongs to all those who are in Him.