In the Valley
“Well, blue skies and hillsides feel so far away.
And I wrote in my notebook that I’ve seen better days
than the ones as of late. I can’t bear the weight.”
These words caught my attention recently while listening to music on “My Jesus Songs” Spotify play list. I literally stopped what I was doing and continued listen so I could throughly absorb the words of the song. The sweet voice went on to sing,
“So I brought it up in a desperate prayer.
Lord, why are you keeping me here?Then He said to me, ‘Child, I’m planting seeds.
I’m a good God and I have a good plan.
So trust that I’m holding a watering can.
And someday you’ll see that flowers grow in the valley.’”
My mind went back to a time when I too felt like I was in a low place. It seemed that the valley could not be overcome. The vocalist in the song shares that she’d not left her bedroom for 76 days. I did not stay in my bedroom but each day was a tremendous strain to just go through the motions of life with my stomach in knots and a constant fear of what would be the “next”.
The song goes on to explain that,
“When I’m on the mountain and looking down below.
I’ll see a valley of flowers that needed time to grow.
And I’ll thank you for the rain.
The hurt and days of pain.And I’ll bring it up in a grateful prayer.
Thank you, Jesus, for keeping me there.
You know just what I need, and you’ve planted seeds.”
Looking back on those long days of stress and pain I can now see how and why God brought me through the experience. It was not just so I could look back and understand my pain and be extraordinarily grateful for being healed by God through surrender. No, there was more. It also allowed me graciously look forward and to be empathic to others in painful valleys of life.
I learned:
- To listen.
- Not to judge.
- Not to try to fix it.
- See others through God’s eyes.
- And maybe, just maybe understand a little bit of the pain and know there is a way to heal.
One of my favorite verses is Jeremiah 28:11 which speaks of how God cares for us, “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”
I often rely on this verse when facing challenges of both the valleys and the mountains. God cares for us in all situations and has plans for good. Knowing this has given me hope for my future no matter what I am facing.
Maybe you are in a valley and need that hope right now. Maybe you have been in the valley and now are seeing the flowers that were planted.Whatever your situation God can be that “watering can” of rain that produces good things that will allow us to prosper in the future.
If you’d like to hear the song Flowers, click here.
JW