The Valleys of Life – 8th February 2009 am
The story of Job: the worst-case scenario found in the Bible concerning trials in the Christian life. If I could sum up the book of Job in a few words it would be, “If it could go wrong it would!!!”However, in the life of Job we can find both comfort and help concerning the trials that we endure in this life.
Job was a godly man according to verse 1 of chapter 1. He lost all of his possessions, he lost all of his children, he suffered with his health, had no support from his wife who wanted him to just curse God and die. Job didn’t even have any comfort from those who were supposed to be his friends.
Job was in a valley that just got deeper and deeper.
I want to spend the next few weeks dealing with the “Valleys of Life.” But, before we get into the valleys of life, we need to understand something; bad things do happen to good people. Troubles are not necessarily a sign of divine displeasure, but rather something allowed by God for our good and His glory.
Job was a godly man with more problems than the wicked around him.
David was a man after God’s own heart and he had problems – (David means “beloved.”)
Paul loved the Lord and served Him as diligently as any man and look what he went though.
Valleys of life have both negative and positive aspects.
1. The Negative Aspects Of The Valleys Of Life.
a. Valleys are valleys, no matter what sort they are - Job 1:20
There is a song that says “we are not in the valley, but just changing mountaintops.” If I wanted to go from Llanwyno to Penrhys, how would I get there? I’d still have to go down into the Rhondda Fach valley….
Here’s the thing - when you are in the valley, it is a valley!
The hosts of heaven and hell watched to see how Job would respond to the loss of his wealth and his children. He expressed his grief in a manner normal for that day.. There is nothing wrong with expressing grief – but look at what Job did next – he worshipped God.
Everything Job owned was given to him by God, and the same God who gave it to him had the right to take it away. Paul said in 1 Timothy 6:7 For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.
Look at Job 1:21 Instead of cursing God, as Satan said Job would, Job blessed the Lord! Anyone can say “the Lord gave,” or “the Lord hath taken away” but it takes real faith to say in the midst of a valley of sorrow and suffering. “Blessed be the name of the Lord.”
b. Some Valleys are deeper than others – Job 1:16-17
In one day, job was stripped of his wealth. One after another, 4 frightened messengers reported that 500 oxen, 500 donkey and 3,000 camels were stolen; 7,000 sheep were killed by fire from heaven, and his 10 children were killed by a great wind.
Job knew what had happened but he didn’t know why they had happened. It’s only because the Scripture gives us a glimpse into the throne room of heaven that we see why Satan was allowed to cause all of this destruction in Job’s life. Had we not had this insight we may have had the same approach as his friends and blamed Job.
The problems we will face in this life will range from the not so bad to valleys of deepest sorrow and trials. We will know what has happened but not know why it has happened – all we can do is trust the Lord…
c. Some Valleys are longer than others – Job 2:13
The term “Job’s Comforters” is a popular phrase for describing people whose help only makes you feel worse. But Job’s three friends do have some good points in spite of the way they ended up adding to Jobs’ afflictions.
For one thing they cared enough for their friend to travel the great distance to be with him, and when they did arrive they actually sat down in the ashes with Job. Their grief for their friend was so great that they couldn’t speak for 7 days.
They soon made up for that though, Seven days of silence and then 42 chapters of badgering.
Each valley we come to will be different some long, some short. We will face problems that will only last for a short period of time. Then there will be problems that never seem to end…
The best way we can help someone in a valley who is hurting is to just be there for them. We don’t have to say anything (that can often make things worse) just let them know that you care.
Don’t try and explain why they are in this particular valley, you don’t know why and they don’t know why they are there, but God does. If Job’s friends had just listened to him and accepted his feelings and not argued with him they would have helped him greatly.
d. Some valleys are Prettier than others – Job 3:1-3
Some valleys are more beautiful than others while others are barren wastelands. Problems can be smaller and allow one to enjoy other things to some degree while other problems are so great that one finds little or nothing to rejoice in.
After 7 days of silent suffering, Job spoke, not to curse God, but to curse the day of his birth. This lament is not a defense of suicide or so called mercy killings, it is just the declaration of a man whose suffering was so much that he wished he had never been born.
When you are hurting, you tend to say a lot of things that you later regret. Job’s suffering was so great that he forgot the blessings that he and his family had enjoyed for so many years. Had he never been born he would not have know the joy that his home had brought him for so many years.
Pain makes us forget the joys of the past; instead we concentrate on the hopelessness of the future.
2. The Positive Aspects Of The Valleys Of Life.
a. It is in the valleys that we grow.
1) We grow in knowledge – 2 Cor 4:15
We learn that He is all that we need in either good or bad times.
God does everything so that His glory might be displayed. Paul tells us here that as more and more people were hearing of God’s amazing grace that he had been given to cope with his troubles and trials and as a result, more and more thanksgiving was going up to the Lord and more and more glory was given to God.
2) We grow in appreciation – Psalm 118:29
We learn to appreciate the mountains. It is easy to take them for granted.
3) We grow in faith – Isaiah 43:2
In this verse, God reminds the Israelites that He has met their need since day one and that He has pledged Himself to continue to do just that. (Ill. These circumstances reference famous events in the history of the nation when God intervened and provided their need.
1. Pass through the waters – The Red Sea – Ex. 14
2. Pass through the river – The crossing of the Jordan – Deut. 4
3. Walk through the fire – Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego – Daniel 3.
What does this mean for us? Just that God has not changed! What He did for Israel, He can be counted on to do for you and me! After all, He is no respecter of persons – Eph. 6:9.
There is not an area of life in which God won’t work to fulfil His promises to you. As you face the storms, walk through the valleys, endure the dark nights of life, remember that He is the same God now as He was then and He will never fail you! He will, however, meet every need you have for His own glory – Phil. 4:19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.
We learn to submit to the problems of life. They will come! He is still God in the valleys as well as on the mountains!
The more we have the less we have to trust God, we are self-sufficient, self-reliant and self-confident. However, when we are in a valley we grow in faith because the less we have the more we have to trust God.
b. It is in the valleys that we glow.
1) We glow in good works - Matthew 5:16
What an opportunity to be a witness! When lost people see the light of Jesus shining through the lives of the redeemed ones, they will take notice. Now, we all have works, but Jesus here mentioned “good works.” What are good works? Good works are works motivated by love, carried out in the power of the Holy Spirit, and performed for the glory of God.
In other words, good works are works produced in us and through us by Jesus Christ Himself. As I yield to Jesus and He lives His life through me, I prove to the world that my profession of faith is real, James 2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
In the Valley we have the opportunity to show people that Jesus Christ really does possess the power to transform a broken life into a thing of immense beauty.
Just as light does not exist to call attention to itself, but to draw attention to the things it illuminates; our witness does not magnify what we have done. Our testimony is about a great God Who loved us and saved us when we deserved damnation instead! Our purpose is not to make people look at what we do and say, “Man, what a great Christian!” No! We want them to see us and say, “They must serve a great God! I’d like to know Him too!”
2) We glow in grace to serve – 2 Corinthians 8:2
What an opportunity to let God work through us above and beyond our capabilities!
The Macedonian churches faced the most difficult circumstances. They knew what poverty was all about, yet they were able to enter into the joy of giving. The Macedonians were poor, but they were happy and they were generous.
When we realize what we don’t have materially that we realize what we do have spiritually.
Remember when Christ and the disciples were watching the people cast gifts into the various boxes in the temple, He drew their attention to the widow. The disciples had been impressed by how much the rich had given – plenty! Christ was impressed by what the widow had left – nothing!
Do we give our all for the Lord – It might just need a valley experience for us to get back on track with serving the Lord.
3) We glow in glorification of our Saviour – Isaiah 24:15
What an opportunity to trust and worship our wonderful God!
1 Peter 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
