Mountain Highs Only? No! But Also In Valley Lows

I cannot deny it. There is nothing I could hide from the Lord. I am still feeling what David must have felt when he talked about being in the slimy pit, the mud and mire, of which God had rescued him from. I am still in that often inexplicable pit of despair and despondency.

Despite of this, the Lord has never failed to aid me with his promises in his Word. He uses countless resources to reach me, such as Desiring God Facebook page, just to remind me of his promises. Coincidentally, I am now in chapter 3 of Numbers in my Old Testament series and it speaks volumes to me.

"God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfil? (...) The LORD their God is with them, the shout of the King is among them. God brought them out of Egypt, they have the strength of a wild ox. There is no sorcery against Jacob, no divination against Israel; It will not be said of Jacob and of Israel, 'See what God has done!'."

(Numbers 3:19-23)

I am composing this entry to tell you, and myself, that God is still God even if you're feeling down and out from this earthly journey. God is still God, he is still sovereign over our every emotion that the enemy could use to lie to us and distort who God really is. In the valleys of our Christian walk, look to him, make his promises your stepping stones, continue to press on to know him most especially in times like this, they are making in us Faith - a thing much even more precious to God than fine Gold. Do not despise these moments. If tears be shed, and muscles be wasted from physical and emotional weakness, rejoice that your soul is well secured by Someone much stronger than you. Hope in him. He is greater than every thing you thought would give you joy. HE makes it by default that HE is our greatest Joy, and that is for our benefit and his glory, because HE will never leave us when all else does. HE will never forsake us when all else does.

When God allows us to be tested in the valley, he will provide us with Strength from the Holy Spirit, the same strength of Christ when he was in the Garden of Gethsemane, to drink this bitter cup so we can first handedly say that we have Tasted and Seen that the Lord is Good. Keep pressing on. Humble yourself at his feet. He is faithful.

God is God in the mountain highs AND of the valley lows. He is so transcendent, the earth is his, there is no state of a person washed and redeemed by Christ that is not loved and known by the Father. For "even the darkness will not be dark to you, the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you." May these promises in Psalm 139 give us comfort in the valleys of our lives.

 

Finding Joy In The Midst of Joylessness

Joy In Christ Alone

Realizations of a 'momentarily' joyless Christian.

“Be gracious to me, O Lord, for to you do I cry all the day. Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul. For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you. Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; listen to my plea for grace. In the day of my trouble I call upon you, for you answer me. There is none like you among the gods, O Lord, nor are there any works like yours.” (Psalms 86:3-8, ESV)

Twenty five years. That's how long I have been a pilgrim on this earth. In the recent years of my journey, particularly a few months before my 25th birthday, I'm at a standstill: a failed relationship, waiting indefinitely for the Lord to act on my visa application, and a feeling of humdrum at work...I could honestly say that I have no joy in my heart right now. At least that’s what I feel. But as the Lord removed certain people in my life, He revealed to me how I was already primarily getting my joy out of that relationship instead of Him alone. The Lord is actually doing me a favor by doing that, although it hurts so much at first. No pruning is ever pleasant as the Bible says.

I find comfort in the words of David in Psalm 86 right now. I could feel his anguish as he penned this Psalm to the Lord, depicting his dependency upon God by calling upon him, and even crying out to him. I praise God that even as I go through periods of valleys in my life, I can cry out every pain to a God who listens and comforts.

Paul Washer once said in one of his sermons, “Jesus Christ promises us two things: Eternal life and a Cross to die on.” That is truly spot on. It reminds me of Jesus’s words in John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” It should not be a surprise to a genuine Christian when he undergoes trials in this world, as though a strange thing is happening. In the words of Peter who is arguably Jesus’ closest disciple, “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.” (1 Peter 4:12-13)

It should be pointed out though, that a Christian’s motivation to go on from this ordeal should not be the hope of better days here on this earth, or that the ordeal may lessen in degree..no that is not what exactly our Lord has promised. For if it is not in his good will that the yoke be lifted, it would only create frustration out of a bitter heart towards the Lord.

The motivation for a Christian to go on then must be from from a heart that longs to follow the will of his Master; to glean on as much as she can from this predicament the Lord has set her to go through. And go through she must, albeit not alone. For she could expect the same Spirit that was with David during the times he wrote the Psalm, especially Psalm 86, will also be with her.

The Lord is continually teaching me that true joy is not always relevant to the situation one is in. Everything else around you could fall apart, but if you have Christ with you, he will prove enough. So I say this together with David that indeed there is no good thing apart from the Lord, and he makes known to me the path of life; in His presence there is fullness of joy; at His right hand are pleasures forevermore (Psalm 16).

In the times of waiting and uncertainty, God has stripped me off from everything I thought I needed, and gave me more than what I could ask for summed up in these three words: MORE OF HIM..For my joy is in my God.

 “Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer's; he makes me tread on my high places. To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.” (Habakkuk 3:17-19, ESV)