Rain in the Valley?

Once again I find myself in the valley. Trouble unexpectedly pulled me from my safe little perch on the mountainside and is dragging me through another situation totally out of my control.  Feeling like I can't take another step through this seemingly endless sprawl of confusion and strife, storm clouds gather and it starts to rain!  "Enough already," I think to myself. 

I look through the fog ahead in the distance and outlined against the sky is my mountain.  There's where I was not so long ago - I was dancing and skipping along and singing praises and feeling like such a conqueror!  What happened?  Where is God now?  As I stand with tears falling as fast as the rain, all I can think of is, "how can I get back to that mountaintop?"  My pity party is short-lived, though.  You know what they say about pity parties - you are the only one that attends and nobody brings refreshments!  God has something to show me in the valley - encouragement for my soul that I would not get otherwise. 

I have always quoted Psalm 121 and declared that the mountains are where I get my strength (that is where God is, right?).  But after reading The Message Bible version, I have a whole new perspective.     

"I look up to the mountains; does my strength come from mountains? No, my strength comes from God, who made heaven, and earth, and mountains." Psalm 121 (The Message)

Here are a few of the life lessons I have learned in the valley:
1.  God is always with us; He said that He would never leave or forsake us.  Never.  Even though the circumstances seem to be separating us from Him, He is only a whisper away.  Even in the valley of the shadow of death, He is right there.  When there have been times I have only had the strength to say, "Jesus," in an instant I could feel His presence with me.  How awesome is that?

2.  He wants to teach us that He is our source of strength.  If we are on the mountaintop and all is going well, we can feel really independent at times.  But when we are having troubles that we cannot control, that is when we rely on His strength and know it had to come from Him. 
 
3.  He shows us that the rain in the valley is making a stream where we can be refreshed. If you ask me where I like to travel I will, without hesitation, tell you somewhere in the mountains.  I love the Rockies, I love the Smokies - well, any mountains.  I would love someday to go see the majesty of the Alps. In the mountains where overwhelming beauty is all around, I am so in awe of God's creations.  But the streams in the valleys are what refresh me the most.  I love to stand in the water swirling around my feet and feel the invigorating coolness. 

4.  The mountain is always in view.  No matter where you go in the valley, you can still see the mountain.  We lived in Albuquerque for almost a year and we enjoyed living at the foot of the Sandias.  Anywhere we went in the valley, we could still see the mountains.  We knew that we could ride the tram, or take a drive, and within minutes we could be at the top, taking in a view that included miles and miles of beautiful valleys and scenery.  God will not keep us in the valley forever - the mountain is always in view to prove it, and that reminds us that our trials are only temporary. 

I can't finish this post without adding my favorite quote from Wintley Phipps.  When I was going through chemotherapy and felt like I was already at the bottom and then the bottom fell out, I clicked on his You-Tube video of "It is Well With My Soul," and this is what he said before he did his magnificent rendition of one my favorite hymns, "It is in the quiet crucible of your personal private sufferings that your noblest dreams are born and God's greatest gifts are given - in compensation for what you have been through."

When I was writing this post about being in the valley and having troubles, I almost hit the delete button to erase every word.  When I considered the devastation I had heard about this week, I felt like my issues were no more than a toothache in comparison.  But we each have troubles, trials, and illnesses that take us into that valley experience.  Not only our physical life is interrupted, but our spirit man is tested.  My own life has been interrupted by Fibromyalgia, Cancer, and now a broken leg, so I want to share my experiences so you know that you can too find God in the valley in a very real and personal way. 

Let us not get in such a hurry to get back to that mountaintop that we miss what He wants to teach us as we sit by that stream in the valley.  The stream that was caused by the rain we thought was just more trouble. And if it rains again, I might just dance in the rain!