To me, life is a journey, life is about leaving point A and reaching point B successfully. The bible itself speaks about this when it tells us to run the race that is marked out for us (Hebrews 12:1). Or as the Apostle Paul said, “he as kept the faith and run his race” (2 Timothy 4:7). Truly there is a destination and a finish line to pass!

But like in all races, there WILL be moments of difficulty, moments when you must push through the pain, moments when giving up looks better than going on. You are going to face obstacles and pain points on your journey. Put another way, you are going to meet valleys to slow you down. It might have been smooth road all along with open country, but then out of nowhere a precipice can appear. A chasm can suddenly present itself before you and look impassable. Yep, this is how this journey with God can be at times.

So, the question to you is, what do you do when you have reached this valley. Valley, precipice or chasm, call it what you will, all of us one day will face this divide in one way or another. All of us will be in the valley of decision. Some of you might be there right now as you read this and wondering how to circumnavigate.

Well, in the valley of decision, it is paramount that you don’t make any decisions. In such times, we are tempted to rely on our own instinct, intuition and worldly training. But I say to you today, defer to the Lord and have him make the decisions in your stead. Let him be your expert tour guide on this journey. He’s the one with the experience to navigate the terrain and lead you out. For didn’t He lead you to the valley to be tested in the first place? Just like his son Jesus. In God’s family, the Father treats all family members the same.  The same spirit that God sent to lead Jesus, is the same spirit that was sent to lead us today. The same spirit, doing the same work.  

You know what I love? I love how our God not only brings us to the valley, but He also created the valley. Each valley is specifically designed for each individual – it’s tailor made for you my friend.  Every ‘peak and trough’ of the journey was crafted by him for you. If He created all things, then shouldn’t the creature conform to the creator and fully allow Him to have his way?

I say again, in the ‘valley of decision’ stay close to God and let Him speak to you. You must be able to hear Gods voice and a good way to accomplish this is by daily reading His word and praying! God wants to be so close to us you know what he said?

1 John 4:13 Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.

God killed His son Jesus just for us to get unbridled access to His Holy Spirit. Because the Holy Spirit is now living in us, God can dwell in us. Take careful note here, it is not only God dwelling in us, but this relationship is reciprocated, and we are also called to dwell in Him. God is saying, he is going to deposit Himself in us and we should in turn deposit ourselves in Him. Hallelujah! I can attest that going through a valley experience is going to call for a deepening of our relationship with God.

During one of King David’s valley experiences, do you know what he said?:

Psalms 23:4 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.

One of the operative words here is “walk”. Not sprint, not bicycle, not drive, nor fly, but walk. Walking is one if the slowest means by which a person can use to reach any destination. David was saying, that even if he was going through the valley at the slowest pace possible and it was taking long, he would still embrace it.  David knew as we also know when we reach the other side of our valleys:

“The valley teaches us things that the mountaintop never will”.

Therefore, don’t give way to fear, but instead embrace and celebrate your temporal valley season. You can either choose to fear or choose to “fear not” (Isaiah 41:10) remembering God is with you closer than a brother. Resting in this knowledge I choose to “fear not”.

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord (Psalm 37:23). So, if the Lord orders me to a valley with my name written on it, then so be it; because I am confident that this will only be for my good. I end this blog post by saying this. Valleys will help you to know who you are because sometimes we don’t even know ourselves. As the saying goes, “trials (valleys) don’t change the man, they reveal the man”.

Your brother in the Lord.

Dane A. Miller