Well, here you are right back in another valley. You may be wondering when this will end? or how long is this valley going to last? I get it, because those have been my same thoughts throughout my journey with God. It wasn’t until I came to the realization that, while valleys are painful and produce a lot of struggle, fear and angst, these are my opportunities to lean into God, to pursue Him and sit with Him. Valleys feel like punishment, but they are, actually, our greatest opportunities for learning, growing and glorifying God.
Valleys are typically lush and filled with life; although, it seems like they are filled with death. The valley is fertile ground where seeds are planted and those seeds are watered by the streams and storms, which will produce the fruit that follows suffering. There are truths to understand and know that must transcend the intellect and penetrate our hearts, if that fruit is ever going to emerge. Walking through valleys give us an experience that we can read about in Scriptures, but only enter into when it is our present reality.
The human reaction to valley life is to find a distraction or an exit; however, those self-protecting measures only serve to escape our present moment pain. The pain we experience in our valleys can be very useful to seek God and His grace and not look for temporal ways to fix, avoid, and numb. “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for You are with me,” the words of David the Shepherd Boy in Psalm 23:4. God is with us in our valleys, because He is IN us and His life will sustain us no matter how deep or how dark the valley may be.