Sheep In The Valley

Title: Sheep Found In The Valley

Text: Deut 8:1-5

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Introduction:

A man found a cocoon of an emperor moth and took it home so he could watch the moth come out of the cocoon. One day a small opening appeared. The man sat and watched the moth for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. To the man it appeared as if the moth had gotten as far as it could in breaking out of the cocoon and was stuck.

Out of kindness the man decided to help the moth. He took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon so that the moth could get out. Soon the moth emerged, but it had a swollen body and small, shriveled wings. The man continued to watch the moth, expecting that in time the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would simultaneously contract to its proper size.

Neither happened. In fact, that little moth spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shriveled wings. It was never able to fly.

The man in his kindness and haste didn’t understand that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the moth to get through the tiny opening were God’s way of forcing fluid from the body into the wings so that the moth would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.

- Just as the moth could only achieve freedom and flight as a result of struggling, we often need to struggle to become all God intends for us to be.

- Sometimes we wish that God would remove our struggles and take away all the obstacles; but just as the man crippled the emperor moth, so we would be crippled if God did that for us.

- God doesn’t take away our problems and difficulties, but he promises to be with us in the midst of them and to use them to restore us, making us into better, stronger people.

- In our text the Lord brought testings and troubles to His people in the desert in order to teach them that our well being both (Physically and Spiritually depends on our relationship to God and obedience to His word.

- God wants us to depend more on Him and be more willing to accept His word.

Transition:

- So we know that struggles stretches us and makes us more like God. But how do I endure the suffering I go through? How do I endure the valley experiences that we all face in life?

- The answer is simple, having a purpose.

- Knowing that God uses my valley experiences to make me more like Him can bring a sense of comfort. There comes a security knowing that God is making you more like Him.

- What kind of purpose can valley experiences bring to the Christian?

Point 1: Valley Experiences Is Necessary To Get Our Attention

Writer Charles Swindoll once found himself with too many commitments in too few days. He got nervous and tense about it. "I was snapping at my wife and our children, choking down my food at mealtimes, and feeling irritated at those unexpected interruptions through the day," he recalled in his book Stress Fractures. "Before long, things around our home started reflecting the patter of my hurry-up style. It was become unbearable.

"I distinctly remember after supper one evening, the words of our younger daughter, Colleen. She wanted to tell me something important that had happened to her at school that day. She began hurriedly, ’Daddy, I wanna tell you somethin’ and I’ll tell you really fast.’ "Suddenly realizing her frustration, I answered, ’Honey, you can tell me -- and you don’t have to tell me really fast. Say it slowly." "I’ll never forget her answer: ’Then listen slowly.’"

- We are so busy, that sometimes struggles can be used by God to get our attention.

- We need to slow down our minds as Christians and listen to what God is trying to say to us.

- It’s hard for us to listen, to people, family and even God. Our attention span is not very long.

- They say........

The average adult attention span is 6 minutes. That’s why the Tonight Show has a commercial break about every 6 minutes!

- God will stretch us to go longer then 6 minutes.

I Sam 5:6-7 says, “The Lord’s hand was heavy upon the people of Ashdod and it’s vicinity; He brought devastation upon them and afflicted them with tumors. When the men of Ashdod saw what was happening, they said, the ark of the God of Israel must not stay here with us, because His hand is heavy upon us and upon Dagon our god.”