I've shared this quote from George Muller before, but it just came to mind today and I felt compelled to share it again.
"I desire that you may taste the sweetness of that state of heart,
in which, while surrounded by difficulties and necessities,
you can yet be at peace,
because you know that the living God,
your Father in heaven, cares for you."
Don't you think it is true that when life is going along smoothly with no major bumps in the road, sometime our human response is to put God in the passenger seat? As Christians, we know He is there, we love Him, and we still believe. However, we may not be putting our lives in His hands like we should.
But, then we come to a place where the road drops off and we find ourselves in a treacherous valley. We can keep driving and try to make it on our own, but that is a pretty frightening experience.... and most likely will lead to failure. Or we can put God back in the driver's seat (where he belongs anyway!) and enjoy the sweet peace and comfort that comes from being fully dependent on God. When we are willing turn the wheel over to the One who knows the way, He will guide us through the darkness and minister to us day by day.... This is the sweetness of the state of the heart that Muller speaks of. Eventually we will find ourselves on the mountain, wallowing in the glory of recognizing all that God has done and how great He is.
What are the lessons of the valley?
Besides the sweet peace I mentioned above, here are some of the things I've learned in our experience....
One, is that God uses the valleys to show us things in our lives we need to change. Unfortunately, dark times often reveal the worst in us, putting our weaknesses and failures under the spotlight. But, this spotlight view can lead us to making some needed changes. And if the dark times came because of our weaknesses and failures, this can be a compelling catalyst for change. These things bring us closer to becoming the person God wants us to be.
Two, God uses the valleys to test our faith. God doesn't need the test, WE do. Difficult times help us to learn the reliability our faith. Faith cannot be seen... but the results of faith in a difficult situation can be seen.
Three, difficulties and trials give God the opportunity to demonstrate his love, power, and provision in our lives. If our lives are free of difficulties, we never have the opportunity to truly experience and see these attributes of God. And when God does display His glory in this way, our faith is then taken to the next level.
I confess, our journey is not one I would wish for, yet knowing what I know now...
it is also one I wouldn't want to miss.
"I must go through the valley,
to stand upon the mountain of God"
(Song: Mountain of God by Third Day)
