It is a fact of life that the journey can sometimes be tiring. Waking up, dragging our feet, we fight the inevitable that is about to happen or will happen. We try to prolong the last few drops of where we are instead of getting up and moving along to where we should go. Beginning to tire, we finally accept whatever it is and lift up one foot after the other moving in the direction call forwardness. Having forgotten that great things, great accomplishments and even deliverance from some things come not from standing still but from moving forward, we hesitate to leave the valley to overcome whatever it is that is holding us back from receiving the victory we so desire and will keep us moving towards that eternal light.
When I look at the Bible, I find many people who left some of the same valleys that I have to leave and it is good to know that I am not the first one nor the last one who will experience such lostness, confusion or fearfulness. Moses, for example, was in the valley for 40 years. You may say that he wasn't, but according to Bible, God told Aaron "Go and meet Moses in the wilderness"* and when you're in a valley you are in the wilderness. In the valley, he married Zipporah, had two sons, one of them he named Gershom which means "I am a sojourner in a foreign country".** Again, evidence that Moses was in a valley and his God-intended purpose had not been fulfilled. It is interesting, this story of Moses, because when it was time for him to leave, he did what so many of us do, find excuses to stay where we are. We adjust and become so comfortable with where we are and what we are doing, and becoming satisfied, we ignore that still small voice that is calling us higher.
Looking at others who are laughing and enjoying life, we fear entering into something unknown without knowing the outcome and we forget that to stay on our journey we have to keep moving forward. Moses finally realized that and went to his father in law Jethro and said, ""Let me go back to my own people in Egypt to see if any of them are still alive."*** Moses had heard the Call and his happiness was dependent upon his obedience to that voice that he had heard.
Take notice however, that Moses did not leave the valley alone. He took his wife and his sons with him. So many of us think leaving the valley means forsaking all and starting all over again with something new. I am so sorry to disappoint you but that is very seldom the case. Leaving the valley means learning to live with your decisions and choices until God has changed it. That is so important to know. Uprooting yourself to fulfill your God given purpose is not God uprooting you; that you taking things in your own hands. You have to wait until God changes things, allowing him to develop a willingness in you to accept His decisions and His directions, or the fulfillment of your goal will leave a saltless, bitter taste in your mouth that smacks of unfulfillment because it was accomplished the wrong way. Look at Solomon, he is a good example of that. At the end of his life, with 300 wives and 1000 concubines, he wrote, "What does the worker gain from his toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on men. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live. That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil-- this is the gift of God. I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him. Whatever is has already been, and what will be has been before; and God will call the past to account. And I saw something else under the sun: In the place of judgment--wickedness was there, in the place of justice -- wickedness was there. I thought in my heart, "God will bring to judgment both the righteous and the wicked, for there will be a time for every activity, a time for every deed." I also thought, "As for men, God test them so that they may see that they are like the animals. Man's fate is like that of the animals; the same fate awaits them both: As one dies, so dies the other. All have the same breath; man has no advantage over the animal. Everything is meaningless. All go to the same place; all come from dust, and to dust all return. Who knows if the spirit of man rises upward and if the spirit of the animal goes down into the earth?" So I saw that there is nothing better for a man than to enjoy his work, because that is his lot. For who can bring him to see what will happen after him?". ****
In other words, we have to develop an ear to hear and patience to wait, until we hear the still small voice saying "it is time to move". Believe me, an ear to hear, and patience to wait on him, until I hear that still small peaceful voice are virtues and traits that I am still learning to master and will continue to learn the rest of my life on this earthly journey.
I am always reminded of a word that one of my grandmothers said to me many years ago. God knows the desires of your heart, child and if you trust Him, He will lead you to them.
So whatever you are going through, whatever you have to face, get up and start moving, and leave that valley. If you are afraid, start by putting a toe in the water. I used to do that when I first learned how to swim. Before jumping in, I would test the temperature of the water by putting in first my big toe and then the rest of my toes. Often, the water was much colder than I thought, nevertheless I closed my eyes and jumped in. Within seconds, my body began to adjust and I would start swimming to the other side of the pool.
Again I revert back to Solomon as he said, "Follow the ways of your heart and whatever your eyes see, but know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment. So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigor are meaningless."*****
It is time to get going! Keep moving forward! You can do it!
May the LORD who is near to all who call on Him, guide you in all that you undertake to do the next week. So, be a blessing and blessings will come back to you.
Schalom,
Pat Garcia Schaack
All Scriptures are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version,
Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible society
NIV/The Message Parallel Bible
Copyright 2004, 2006 by ZONDERVAN
*Exodus 5:27
**Exodus 2:22
***Exodus 4:18
****Ecclesiates 3:9-22
*****Ecclesiates 11:9-10
