WITH GOD IN THE VALLEY OF LIFE – PART ONE
I greet you, friends, in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. I pray that the Lord today would touch you, minister to you, meet your needs, as we consider this topic: With God in the valley of life.
“With God in the Valley of Life” And I am reading from a familiar text, Psalm 23:1-6
Psalm 23:1-6
The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still waters.
3 He restores my soul;
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
For His name’s sake.
4 Yea, 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.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;
My cup runs over.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days of my life;
And I will dwell in the house of the Lord
Forever.
PRAYER
Father, may You use this scripture today, to meet the needs in the lives of my friends, in the Name of Jesus I pray. Amen!
Naturally, a valley is a low area between two mountains or two hills, usually drained by a river and its tributaries. A valley is a depression, a hollow, a low point. Metaphorically or figuratively, the valley of life is when we find ourselves down and out between a rock and a hard place, as it were. The valley of life is when we find ourselves at a low point as a result of the circumstance or circumstances of life. lt is when you get the news that You are not expecting, news that is unlike the news of Proverbs 25:25:
The News in Proverbs 25:25 is “As cold water to a weary soul, So is good news from a far country.” But that’s not the kind of news you are receiving. No good news to water your soul – your weary soul. Instead, the news you’ve got depresses and dries up your soul. The doctor has just told you or your loved one that you have an incurable disease and would not have long to live. You are in the valley. You get the news that the job you are depending upon to take care of your family is no longer there: you’ve been sacked; you’re unemployed. You find yourself in the valley. You get the news that your daughter, Angelina whom you did your best to raise in the fear of God and put through the university is now married to Angela, whom she met in school. You are in the valley of life for sure. You get the news that your husband with whom you have been lived together for many years, raised children together, has now gone off with a much younger woman.
How can we stay away from the valley of life? That’s the wrong question!
Why should a good God permit His child to come into the valley of life? Wrong again!
How can l go through the valley of life when I find myself in it’? – This is the right question. You go through the valley of life with God!
There are a number of valleys in the Bible and the have the typical characteristics of valleys: pain and Sorrow. l will mention them briefly and spend a little time on four valleys with a difference. Hopefully we’ll find some helpful lessons in them.
The first valley I will bring to your attention is:
- The Valley of Siddim (S.I.D.D.I.M) located in the region of Sodom and Gomorrah.
- Lot and his family were taken captive in the battle that was fought in this Valley, compelling Abraham to go to war to rescue his nephew and family. You find that account in (Gen 14). It is the Valley of captivity.
- The Valley of Jehoshaphat or the Kidron Valley, also called the Valley of Decision or Threshin – the same valley. You find that in, Joel 3 and Revelation 16. In Joel 3:14-16, we read.
Joel 13:14-16
“14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. 15 The sun and the moon will grow dark, And the stars will diminish their brightness. 16 The LORD also will roar from Zion And utter His voice from Jerusalem; The heavens and earth will shake; But the LORD will be a shelter for His people and the strength of the children of Israel . The Valley of Jehoshaphat, the Kidron Valley, the valley of decision is the valley of Judgment.
- The Valley Achor (A.C.H.O.R sounds like the Igbo name Acho). This is the valley where Achan and his family were stoned to death for stealing the devoted things from Jericho. You find this in Joshua 7. This is the Valley of painful death.
The fourth valley is,
- The Valley of Gehinnom, or Gehenna, or the valley of the Son of Hinnom. This was the Valley of perpetual burning refuse; it was also the place where backslidden Jews burnt their children in sacrifice to Molech. You find that account in 2 Chron. 28 and Jeremiah 7. This is the Valley of the judgment of hell.
- The fifth valley is, The Valley of Jezreel where Jezebel met her death at the hand of Jehu, in 2 Kings 9. This is in retribution for what she and her husband Ahab did, murdering Naboth and taking his vineyard. This is the valley of retribution. You can see that there is nothing to smile about in the valley; there is no good news in or from the valley. But the story changes when God, upon invitation, comes into the Valley.
With God in the Valleys of Life.
- The Valley of Elah where David fought and killed Goliath: it’s in 1 Samuel I want you to note that: David went into the Valley of Elah with God. That is why the story is different. In 1 Samuel 17:37, David said to Saul,
1 Samuel 17:37
37 Moreover David said, “The Lord, who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”
And Saul said to David, “Go, and the Lord be with you!”
In verse 45-47, (when David faced Goliath it is interesting to note what he said),
45 Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. 46 This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you and take your head from you. And this day I will give the carcasses of the camp of the Philistines to the birds of the air and the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel. 47 Then all this assembly shall know that the Lord does not save with sword and spear; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give you into our hands.”
What a way to go into the valley! David went into that valley to face Goliath, and he went with God. Without God you will stay longer or even perish in the valley.
- The Valley of Berachah (2 Chron. 20:22-27) A great multitude came against Judah, led by the Moabites and the Ammonites. King ” Jehoshaphat feared, the bible said, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. That is 2 Chronicles 20:3. To cut a long story short, God destroyed the formidable army when the people of Judah went into the battle armed with Praise and nothing but Praise. “But what does that have to do with the Valley of Berachah?” you may ask. Let us read verses 26 and 27 of 2 Chronicles 20.
26 And on the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Berachah, for there they blessed the LORD; therefore the name of the place was called The Valley of Berachah until this day 27 Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat in front of them, to go back to Jerusalem with joy, for the LORD had made them rejoice over their enemies.”
In the valley of Berachah, that is. Bless the Lord in your valley, friend; bring the Lord into your valley, as Paul and Silas did, in Acts 16; and you find that the story will change and you will find that the enemy will not get what he desires.
With God in the valley!
We will conclude next time.
Let us pray
PRAYER:
Friend, I ask you now: have you known this Friend with whom you need to go into the valley the Lord Jesus Christ? Invite Him into your life so that when you go through the valley you’ll be sure He is there. Father, let it be so for as many as are my friends as are receiving the Saviour today the Lord Jesus Christ; help them O God, deliver them from the valley where they may find themselves or where they are now…in Jesus Name we pray. Amen!