COVID-19 Novel Encouragement Sample

WALK THROUGH THE VALLEY

How many of us believed that when we gave our lives to Christ, life was meant to be easy? Surely, when we made the choice to surrender our lives to God, the ruler of the universe, shouldn't it become plain sailing?

In Psalm 84:5-7, the Psalmist depicts some of the journey for God's people, and the text does not indicate that our walk with God is one without pain.

"Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
As they go through the Valley of Baca
they make it a place of springs;
the early rain also covers it with pools.
They go from strength to strength;
each one appears before God in Zion.”

The portion starts with God's people traveling to Jerusalem to worship. They are strong in God and their hearts are set on worshipping him (v. 5).

But along the way, they encounter the Valley of Baca, a dry valley where a type of 'weeping' tree grew. Most commentaries refer to it as the 'valley of weeping.' Certainly, the 'valley of weeping' echoes many of our experiences in the past few weeks.  So many are grieving the loss of peace, mobility, security, health, and connection.  

In our sojourning through life, we are not exempt from the Valley of Baca.  Here are some encouragements for 'valley' times:

1. We are meant to go through the valley (v. 6). The encouragement here: that we go through it. The valley is not our destination. It is important to keep our hearts and those around us filled with hope, to keep looking forward and not to get 'stuck' in the valley forever.

2. God is with us.

“Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff,
they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4)

Jesus, the light of the world, is with us even the valley of shadow death. That is why, I believe, it is only a shadow. There is a well-known saying, 'there is a light at the end of the tunnel', but with the believer, Jesus is the light in the tunnel. No matter how dark it may seem, Jesus will never leave us or forsake us.

3. The valley experience can become a fruitful one (v. 6).  God is able to change what the enemy meant for evil, for His good. (Genesis 50:20)

4. We will emerge even stronger once we have walked through to the other side of the valley (v. 7).

5. Our view and knowledge of God will be even clearer (v. 7). We will truly know Him as our rock, our defender and our hiding place.  (Psalm 32:7)

Let's take a few minutes to remind our souls that God is with us in this valley and that He is going to lead us out of it. Let's trust that on the other side, we will be stronger and know Him better.

By Esmé Warne, SuZhou