“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4)
And the valley of physical pain, of mental anguish, of great heart wrenching sorrow, of great frustrations and righteous anger against the wicked, through the valley of suffering, the Lord is with us who have called upon His name for the salvation of our souls.
It is faith in the truth of these promises that causes us to not give up, to not fully succumb to those circumstances.
My friends, if you are in any of these valleys today and are desirous to allow His will to be the guiding factor of your life, then you are not praying for the Rapture to happen today so that you can escape those tribulations, you are not concentrating on Revelation 21:4. “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” so that all this suffering can be put into context.
If “Thy will be done” is what is going through your mind, then what you are praying for is the strength to take that next step on the path, no matter how much it hurts.
The sweet release will arrive either through the Rapture or your death, there is no other alternative.
Dr. J Vernon MeGee did a complete one-year study through the Scriptures, when that was complete, the Lord led him to do a five-year study of the Word of God. If you can obtain those volumes, I would highly suggest doing so. As he sat in his chair one evening contemplating a ten-year study of the Scriptures, he fell asleep, as the Word of God calls it, while his wife was making supper. Her sorrow was her valley, his was over.
“Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.” (Rev. 4:11)
We move forward until the last step, we pause on the path set before us only long enough to consider His wonders or to fulfill for as long as needed Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.”
You should be moving forward, when death arrives for you, you should be walking on that path, listening to the Holy Spirit, planning how you can better serve your Master by serving others, by reaching out to the lost and encouraging your brothers and sisters in Christ.
The majority of the life of the man called by the Living God is lived in those valleys, whether it be his own trials, or the tribulations of others, to be on the mountaintop is an extremely rare event. If there is one lost soul in his vicinity, he reaches out to them, if there is one who needs encouragement, he will assist them.
“Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.” (Romans 12:15)
His own sufferings do not encapsulate his life, extreme physical pain may hinder him, great personal sorrow may cover him at times, but that does not mean he is to pull up a chair and sit on the path. If he is breathing, he is serving, if there is still life in his flesh, he is following Christ.
“Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” (Col. 3:2)
In the larger sense my friends, this entire life, our existence on this planet in the flesh is a valley, we reside on a planet that for now is under Satan’s control, we move amongst the wicked every day, we are filled with the light of Christ, but we move through the darkness.
If those of this world are blessed to see that light in you, they are not looking up, but down into those valleys. If they are there, you are to reveal that light to them. And if you have been blessed with wisdom, you will not point up to the top of the mountain to show them the Savior, but to your side, where He travels in that valley with you.
