Valleys

I really like the message at church today. So I thought I'd share some of it with you.

"Untested convictions are just good intentions." How absolutely true. You can have the best intentions and faith, but it's when you are tested and go through struggles, that the real you is revealed.

Psalm 23:1-4
"The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me."

"All sunshine and no rain makes a desert." If you only have good things happen all the time, no rain/hard times, you are going to be a dried up Christian. That doesn't sound very good to me. No sir! You can't have sunshine all the time. It takes good times and bad times to make a mature person. We have pain and joy. Victory and defeat. Successes and failures. Mountains and Valleys.

Valleys are inevitable. Valleys are unpredictable. Valleys are impartial. No one us immune. Everyone has problems. Good people and bad people. Valleys are temporary. It's not going to last forever. You won't stay there forever. There will be relief. Think of Valleys like a tunnel. It's something you have to go through to get to where you are headed on the other side. Valleys are purposeful. When your convictions are tested, you find out where your convictions are.

What do you do when you go through Valleys?
-Refuse to be discouraged
-Remember that God is with me
-Rely on God's protection and guidance

Look at that Valley! Doesn't look so bad, huh?