when in the valley.

I sat down today knowing I wanted to write something, but had no clue what to say. If I’m being completely honest, my relationship with the Lord has been a little rocky this past week. I haven’t been in the Word as much as I know I should be and my faith has been shaken by some abrupt circumstances. Out of nowhere, I found myself in a valley. A valley of grief, a valley of fear, and a valley of pain.

 

Amidst these trials, I have found myself desperately holding onto the ideas of light and goodness. It’s funny how easy it is to boast in God’s goodness and light when we are on mountain tops and how hard it is to in the valleys because it’s when we enter those valleys that we truly need to cling to those truths laid before us in the Bible. Something I have to keep reminding myself, and something us believers should always keep in mind, is that just because the light is hard to see, doesn’t mean it’s not there.

 

John 8:12

“I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.”

 

The word never really strikes me in this verse. When I read this verse, never signals to me that this is a promise. And as a follower of Jesus, I know He does not break His promises, so these words aren’t to be taken lightly. This is Jesus’ promise to us that we will never be in darkness because He is the light and He is never going to leave us. Never.

 

It’s very easy to feel like we’re engulfed by darkness when we are in valleys of life, but the words of John 8:12 need to be our hope. These words need to affirm us that we aren’t left alone amidst trials, God knows what he’s doing, and we have to trust that the light will be revealed to us. Imagine driving through a tunnel. When you enter a tunnel it is pitch black and you can’t see the end because the tunnel is too long, or there are too many cars in front of you, or maybe you can see the end but it’s just a tiny grain of sand in the distance. Since we all know how tunnels work, we believe that we will be in the light again once we get out of that tunnel, right? We know the end result of driving through a tunnel. Now, think of that tunnel as a valley. Tunnels are seasons in your life when it’s difficult for you to see God in your circumstances. Because of God’s promise that we’ll always have the light of life, we need to start believing that when we enter those tunnels, the light is still there waiting to be revealed. Tunnels aren’t dead ends of darkness. Our valleys won’t go on forever because the light is always there even when we cannot see it.

 

John 13:7

“Jesus answered to him, “What I’m doing you don’t realize now, but afterward you will understand.”

 

Romans 8:28

“We know that all things are working together for the good of those who love God,”.

 

This is yet another truth that I find so much hope in when I’m in valleys and is something I think should always point us back to His goodness and light. When we are in these difficult seasons, we have to hold tight to the truth that God knows what He’s doing and whatever situations/circumstances we endure are in His plan and He is going to bring light out of it because of the goodness in His nature. Every valley has a purpose in our lives and much like a dark tunnel, will always reveal light to us in the end.

 

Romans 8:18

“For I consider that the suffering of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.”

 

It is my prayer for myself and anyone reading this that we can find peace amidst seasons of life that appear dark because we have faith that God’s hand is over us and the light will be revealed to us in the right timing. I pray that we can lean into and trust the goodness of our God knowing that he doesn’t abandon us amidst our trials because He is constant and He will never have His believers walk in the darkness. He is light! He is goodness! He won’t leave us, He won’t forsake us, so we have to keep the faith and trust Him in our valleys so that we may have hope and joy in the Lord even when the world tells us otherwise!