Rejoice in the Valleys

(How do we delight in the Lord? – Part 5)
by Kelly Dixon
Reading: Romans 8:11 & 18

It was a beautiful morning. The flowers were blooming and everywhere I drove I enjoyed God’s pallet of colors. The bird’s chirped songs of happiness. The squirrels scurried here and there. The weather was picture perfect. It was just like a Florida postcard that you would send to a loved one in an effort to share the joy of the moment with them. Everything around me seemed to be upbeat and cheerful except for my heart which felt like it was about to stop beating. My spirit was so down that I felt like my heart was being choked by the dreariness of my soul. Several had asked me on the phone and in person if I was okay. “I’m fine,” I would respond, but reality was I could sit down for a good cry at any moment. As I drove to pick up my children from school on that day - I had a good ole’ fashion pity party that ended with the Lord showing me His gentle touch.

It had been several weeks since I felt revived in my spirit. Stresses came from all areas of my life. Professional related stress that was frustrating at best along with family related stress that tugged hard on my Mommy heart strings. To top it all off, I was not getting good sleep and the doctor thought I had sleep apnea. When the thought of this possibility started to settle in, I thought, “Oh great, now let’s add lack of oxygen to the brain - that really helps matters!!” All these stresses led to guilt of not being able to stay awake for my quiet time with the Lord. This lack of intimacy with Him led to an absence of inspiration to do what He has called me to do. It was like I was riding on a roller coaster ride full of stress, full of disappointments, full of guilt and I was sitting in the car marked hopelessness.

As my pity party began, and the tears started flooding my cheeks, I cried out to the Lord in desperation for a revival of my soul. I didn’t like the way I felt and I didn’t like the fact that I was allowing my feelings to stand in the way of fulfilling His purpose in me. Immediately, the Lord began to remind me of His Word that we had spoken about many times. They were verses I had in my stack of Scripture memory cards. The first one being Romans 8:11, “But if the Spirit of Him Who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” I knew from this verse that the Lord was telling me to draw from His Spirit. He was showing me that I was not only neglecting to do so but I was also trying to take care of things myself - once again. I would like to say this was a new conversation I was having with the Lord, but unfortunately it is a frequent one. Then other verses came to mind . . . Psalm 16:11; Philippians 4:4-7; Psalm 46:1-2. As the Lord’s Scriptures nurtured my soul, my tears of despair soon became tears of joy. I had rediscovered my strength in the Lord and I was humbled by the presence of my Creator being there with me at that moment. He renewed my spirit and refreshed my soul and soon I was rejoicing in the midst of my trials.

What is interesting about rejoicing in the midst of trials is that it opens up the floodgates of heaven so we can see the many blessings the Lord has placed in our lives to help us endure. For me it came with the realization of a loving supportive husband, family and friends. The lessons the Lord had taught me in the past began to come to mind and memories of His faithfulness showed how He has blessed me. It has been said many times that you should count your blessings when you feel down, but it is astounding when you actually do such a task and marvel in the awesomeness of God.

We find delighting in the Lord hard when we are faced with disappointments in our lives. But in the valleys is where we grow the most and, yes, we can be joyful even as we are there if we delight in the promises of the Lord. He promises us that He will be with us through the valleys (Psalm 23:4) and He has a plan at work for our good (Jeremiah 29:11). However, there is a responsibility we must uphold if we are going to delight in the Lord and be joyful through the valleys. We must stay in His Word, claim His promises, and walk in faith. I had forgotten to claim His promises and walk in faith. By neglecting these things I ultimately was drawn away from staying in His Word. I was allowing the circumstances of my life to determine the state of my spirit instead of the promises of my Lord to uphold my spirit. Yes, dear loved one of God, the Lord wants you to delight in Him and He in you even through the trials of life. He wants you to look beyond the present to the future glory that is to come. Paul states this explicitly in Romans 8:18 which states, "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. " (NKJV) The sufferings of this time are not worthy of our thoughts, our efforts, or our strength. Only the coming glory of God is worthy of such things. The coming glory that He will reveal to us as He uses our trials for His glory and ultimately brings us closer to Him.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, You are such an awesome God. I cannot praise You enough for the blessings You bestow upon my life and the lives of those who surround me daily. Thank You for Your loving touch. Give me wisdom to endure. I walk in Your promises and the faith of Your faithfulness to me and all Your children. In Jesus Name I pray and conquer all! Amen.