I’ve been thinking about valleys lately. I’ve gotten overly well acquainted with them. (Insert long rambling sob story about my impressive collection of problems here.) I wouldn’t say I have them figured out. The word valley conjures up an image in my mind. It’s a dark valley between two steep mountains. The weather is that of a southern Indiana winter. That is to say, cold enough to be miserable but not cold enough to freeze. The sky is a dismal shade of grey, relentlessly drizzling icy rain. The trail is slippery slimy mud. And we have to walk this trail, one slow squelching step at a time.
Valleys are something we go through sooner or later. They can be consequences of our actions or circumstances. There are many different types- spiritual, mental, physical, etc. Some “the glass is half full” people may try to tell you that they’re actually a good thing. That you should even perhaps be thankful for them. And they probably have a point. But I’m not trying to spin them in a good light here. They get me down. They steal joy. In my opinion, valleys are negative.
What can be done when all there is is discouragement and mud? I can’t fix the valley myself, no matter how hard I try. But I don’t have to get through it alone, although it often feels that way. The most important thing is not to lose faith. If I face overwhelming circumstances, then God must have at the very least allowed them. And if He’s allowed them then He will be by my side all the way through. And there will always be a way through. Not necessarily an easy or fun way, but a way nonetheless. I need to trust Him and not let go of His hand.
The only way to get through the valley is to keep on walking. It doesn’t get me anywhere to sit by the trail and moan about it. I must just endure, and having endured, keep on enduring until the valley is endured. (That sentence felt illegal.) It takes (or creates) patience and temperance. One step at a time, eventually there is the other side. At least with most valleys. A friend asked me “What if you do everything you can but the valley never improves?” I don’t have an answer for that. For some valleys, maybe the other side isn’t in this life, and won’t be gained till Heaven.
I don’t think that thought should be too discouraging. The valley may steal some joy, but it shouldn’t consume me. Does temporary suffering matter in the big picture? And it’s not like valleys are always lived in every moment of the day. There can still be some joy to be found if I look for it. True, life won’t always hold joy, and there are times when we can’t take hold of it. But can’t there still be good days in the midst of bad? And even during the worst of days, can’t there still be peace, rest, and hope? I think it really is a mental and spiritual game. There are people who suffer horrible things, and are joyful through it all. Paul and Silas, for example.
There’s also a lot to be learned in the valley. They can really show us a lot about ourselves. They can help to strengthen things we may lack. A quote from a song because I like using quotes from songs: “Though this test be not thy choice, make from it some lovely thing.”¹ Perhaps there can be some good that can come from the valley. (Yikes, I’m starting to sound like a glass is half full person.)
Maybe acceptance is really the heart of this article. After all, to find the joy and good things that are in the valley does require acceptance of it. I can moan and wallow in the mud, making futile attempts to move forward. Or with acceptance I can decide that even though life isn’t fun right now, I can still trust the hand that’s stronger than my own. I can surrender those precious things which the valley has taken. I can still find good among all the mud. I can face this valley head on and not give up. Some more quoteage from another song: “Then teach me Lord, to accept the life you give to me; if there be pain, if there be sorrow, let me turn to Thee and lean upon Thy promises for blessed release, for in acceptance there is peace.”² That sums up this article rather nicely. Next time maybe I’ll just share the quote and call it a day.
¹ In Acceptance There Is Peace- Tim Coblentz
² In Acceptance There Is Peace- Geraldine Koehn
