Valley of Vision...

When You lead me to the valley of vision

I can see You in the heights

And though my humbling wouldn’t be my decision

It’s here Your glory shines so bright

So let me learn that the cross precedes the crown

To be low is to be high

That the valley’s where

You make me more like

Christ Let me find Your grace in the valley

Let me find Your life in my death

Let me find Your joy in my sorrow

Your wealth in my need

That You’re near with every breath

In the valley

In the daytime there are stars in the heavens
But they only shine at night

And the deeper that I go into darkness The more I see their radiant light

So let me learn that my losses are my gain To be broken is to healed
That the valley’s where Your power is revealed

This is a song by Sovereign Grace Ministries entitled, "In The Valley". This is what life is all about isn't it. I can't imagine that I can go through life without going a time or two in the valley. But the valley is about God, not me. It's about seeing His Glory and allowing Him to shape and mold me into what He wants me to be. So many times, I get wrapped around the axle and wonder what it is that God is doing. The answer to those times in my life is this..."God is glorifying Himself in my life, what else do you expect Him to do?" It doesn't mean that the valley hurts or is any less scary...but what it does mean is that the valley has a purpose that goes beyond me and my feelings. It means that the valley fits into the purpose of life which is glorifying God.

I got John Piper's message yesterday entitled "What I said at my Granddaughter's funeral". He is amazingly consistent with what he says and the direction that he points to. I would encourage anyone reading this to click on the link and read it. Talk about a valley that he had to go through and he makes it look like nothing at all. His valley's would be huge for me if I had to go through them, yet he makes them look like a cakewalk. I feel as if my valley's are really daily divots for him. And then I am reminded that God will not allow me to go through anything that is beyond what I can handle through His power (1 Corinthians 10:13). My prayer is that I will not waste the valley's that God places me in through wishing that I was somewhere else, by getting mad and vengeful, or any other way that I can waste it. Rather, I want the valley's to be the moments when God reveals more of who He is to me, where he further shapes me into the image of Christ as He has promised to do, where He strips away those things that I have come to rely on instead of Him, where He makes His glory shine so bright that I cannot help but see Him for who He is and what He is doing. The words of the song above are the cry of my heart right now. Soli Deo Gloria.