Sometimes in God’s Word a passage does not impact you because it is speaking to a place you are not in, and you read on. Then as circumstances change, with the pressures of life encroaching on you, suddenly those words, glossed over, glory off the page.
In order to see and hear, we needed the sight from circumstance to behold the light of His Word, to hear it speaking directly to us. God didn’t change (Numb. 23:19; Heb. 13:8). His Word didn’t change (Ps. 119:89). We changed; and His Word became a lamp and a light unto the way He is leading (Ps. 119:105).
Glory to God, His Word and light became flesh in the person of His Son, Yeshua/Jesus (Jn. 1:4-5, 14); and you can speak right to Him, the Light! the Word! as He leads you along the way in life. Praise His name!
I was once speaking with someone on a remote trail, leading to a remote mountain. They were nervous about the steep and slippery terrain ahead.
Recognizing that they were not inexperienced in the backcountry, I encouraged them to keep going. While the trail was unknown to them, it was not unknown to me; and I knew that they had been through much worse trail conditions than they would meet ahead.
They continued on … by the word of a stranger.
Joshua 3:3-5 is a beautiful source of comfort as we face uncertainty in life:
“And they commanded the people, saying, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests, the Levites, bearing it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it. Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure. Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before.” And Joshua said to the people “Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.”
“For you have not passed this way before,” and because of that you need a bit of perspective. The Ark and the priests will be out in front, just as they had been for 40 years in the wilderness, give space, pay attention, and follow the presence of God attentively.
At this point, what’s ahead is unknown; but Joshua and the elders of Israel are reminding a worried people that the same Lord who has led them, will do so again tomorrow; the same Lord who has done wonders among them, will do so again tomorrow. They need only “sanctify” themself, or commit themselves to His leading.
With the uncertainty of tomorrow ever before us, we need to remember how the Lord led us in our yesterday’s, even to this moment.
In Numbers 23:19 we read, “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” (cf. Heb. 13:8; II Cor. 1:20).
Everything I teach can easily be traced back to this verse. God will not lie. He will not change. He said it. He will do it. And, blessed be His name, all of the promises of His Word, radiating out from eternity to the present, are guaranteed in His Son.
Messiah Yeshua/Jesus commanded those following Him: “Don’t worry about it,” a paraphrase obviously, and He did so by directing us to the faithfulness of the Father (Matt. 6:25-34). He was urging us to continue on, even over the rough, uncertain terrain – even in the distress of life.
We continue on … by the word of the Savior. O praise His name!
The question will then become: Are you sure we haven’t been this way before? It seems familiar, very familiar.
The closer you are drawn to the Lord, by His grace, the more the uncertain, and unfamiliar, will feel familiar. Not because we have been “this way before,” but rather, the Lord who is ever with us, is leading us through the uncertain, as He always has, and will.
Have you ever rejoiced over your tribulation? Over your troubles? Honestly.
I’ve been reading the prophet Hosea as part of my morning devotions recently, and the hope found in Hosea 2:14-15 is profound, and yet troubling at the same time; we read,
“Therefore, behold, I will allure her, will bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfort to her. I will give her her vineyards from there, and the Valley of Achor as a door of hope; she will sing there, as in the days of her youth, as in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.”
Several points stand out. The Lord brings his wayward people into the wilderness (from a root meaning order and speech) to speak comfort to her there: out there, not in familiar places. He will restore peace, represented by vineyards, “from there.” Finally, she will sing “there,” as in her youth when she was brought out of Egypt (Ex. 15).
There is a catch. Sorry. The location in the wilderness has a name: the Valley of Achor. I would translate this as: the Valley of Trouble. Again, sorry.
How we understand the “Valley of Trouble” is vital. As the Lord says, “I will give her … the Valley of Achor as a door of hope.” The door of hope, as the Lord speaks, is found in trouble. Yikes!
From this we learn that trouble actually becomes a servant of the Lord; however, it, trouble, only becomes our servant when we keep the Lord front and center in our heart, mind, and life: trouble forces us to focus.
In the Valley of Trouble, the door of hope is set, and it is open when we begin to “sing there, as in the days of her youth.” The Lord is encouraging us to sing in the Valley of Trouble, the door of hope, an is the days of our youth – as when we were first delivered.
From where does this peace come? Paul writes, “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Ro. 5:1-2). Glory to God!
Those in Messiah Yeshua/Jesus are recipients of God’s uncommon grace, and that grace gives us hope in all situations, even in the Valley of Trouble. God promised to give vineyards from the Valley of Trouble, meaning the fruit of peace in the trouble that is the door of hope. It is Yeshua who stands in the midst of our trouble, giving the hope and peace that comforts. Hallelujah!
God will always backup His Word, as His promise (II Cor. 1:20), and He will keep your confidence in His Word. This hope, and word of promise is not, and I repeat, is not based on your performance, but His promise to enter into, and work “all things” together for our good, in order that we be conformed to the image of His Son (Ro. 8:28-29).
Paul’s use of the word “justified” in Romans 5:1 should be a cause of celebration and rejoicing. Simply: in Messiah, when God the Father sees you, he sees you as Jesus Himself. O praise His name!
Do you find yourself in a Valley of Trouble today? Start singing. He brought you to the trouble in order to draw you to, and deeper into His presence. Sing in the trouble, your door is before you, and His name is Yeshua/Jesus.
the mountain mensch 