Have you ever found yourself standing in one of the proverbial valleys of life? Perhaps your health is failing and you got the dreaded cancer diagnosis. It could be you’re facing financial ruin or your lifelong marriage is coming to an end. Or maybe, like me, you’re caught in the throws of infertility. Whatever that valley looks like for us, it is most often a time of immense loneliness. We can be surrounded by love and yet still feel alone in our struggle. We may begin to think we’re the only one that’s ever been in that valley.
God guaranteed there would be trouble in this life (John 16:33) but the more we isolate ourselves, the harder our struggle becomes. We must realize that isolation is one of Satan’s many strategies, and it makes us vulnerable to his attack. Separation from others allows him a full 360 degrees to prowl around us like a lion seeking to destroy us (1 Peter 5:8). Drs. Cloud and Townsend write, “Isolation keeps what is broken in the soul sequestered in the darkness- out of the light of relationship with God and others, where there can be neither help nor resolution” (Boundaries, 221). We all need an Aaron and Hur to hold up our arms when we grow tired while fighting our battle (Exodus 17:12).
And there is no greater comfort in the middle of our valley than that provided by God’s presence! King David wrote in Psalm 23, “Yeah though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou are with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” God speaks life into our valleys- even during times of isolation. I had not shared my struggle with infertility with my closest friends. But God spoke to me through a very dear friend of mine, Denie Girardeau, as she was routinely praying for the desires of my heart. He instructed her that we should “praise and speak as though it has already happened.” Philippians 4:4 says that we should “Rejoice in the LORD always. I will say it again: Rejoice!” God is always faithful, and we should choose to praise him even when life doesn’t seem to be going the way we thought it should. The Bible says in Nehemiah that the joy of the LORD is our strength. So when we’re weak, sister, we must choose joy! A friend of mine, Carrie Wilson, once said that it’s our very small step of faith that motivates God to work in the supernatural to make our mountains move. And when we’re in the middle of that valley, friend, our next mountain can’t come soon enough!
Even though we can’t see the end of our struggle, God can. Until then, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13). He has abundance and hope waiting for us. So while it’s painful right now just to take that very next step in our walk of faith remember that He has Something More for us on the other side!
