Tag: Valley of Despair

II Chronicles 20:26 ” On the fourth day they assembled in the Valley of Beracah, where they praised the Lord. This is why it is called the Valley of Beracah to this day.”

In the Bible many Valleys were known for only death and destruction…the Valley of the Dry Bones, the Valley of the Shadow of Death, the Valley of Despair.  But in this particular Valley it was quite the opposite for the men of Judah.  That’s because the vast army that had sought to annihilate them, had instead been annihilated by God.  So the Valley of Death and Destruction suddenly became the Valley of Praise.  Over the course of the last months many of us have been in the Valley…a Valley filled with fear, anxiety, sadness, isolation, and discouragement.  But we need to realize that God is the God of both the mountain-top and the valley…the highs and the lows…the good and the bad.  That’s because He’s with us always, so our praise shouldn’t stop either, no matter where we find ourselves.   For while we all long for those mountain-top experiences…we also have learned that many a hard-fought lesson comes while in the Valley.

Jeremiah 8:15 ” We hoped for peace but no good has come, for a time of healing but there was only terror.”

In all our lives we will go through darkness…not the kind caused by sin or disobedience…but darkness that comes out of fear and confusion in this broken world.  But while we are crouched down in the Valley of Despair,  we need to listen…for the Lord will be speaking life-bringing truths into our soul.  Precious truths of encouragement, and exhortation that will sustain us during illness, pain, and loss.   Isaiah 50:10 tells us, ” Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God.”