Reflections on Valleys in Troubled Times

Because of this week's unrest, we weren't able to have church at our normal place today with everyone, so our church met in various places around Bahrain in people's homes.  Our flat was one of the gathering spots, and we had a couple people come.  It was a good time of worship, reading scripture and praying.  


The Valleys  We looked at a few verses from the Bible about the valleys - the difficult spots in our lives - and our response to those.  One of those verses came from Joshua 7:26 - "Over Achan they heaped up a large pile of rocks, which remains to this day. Then the LORD turned from his fierce anger. Therefore that place has been called the Valley of Achor [trouble] ever since."  This verse ends the story of Achan, who stole gold that was intended to be given to God.  The valley itself was named the "Valley of Trouble" as a reminder of what happened to God's people that day. 


Hosea's Take Fast forward to Hosea's time, a prophet who prophesied during the Northern Kingdom of Israel's troubled times.  They had turned away from God.  They were worshiping idols.  God is calling them back, and all of chapter 2 of Hosea is God's warning of punishment for deserting God, but a promise from God that He will allure them:

¹⁴"Therefore, behold, I will allure her,
   and bring her into the wilderness,
   and speak tenderly to her.
¹⁵And there I will give her her vineyards
   and make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.
And there she shall answer as in the days of her youth,
   as at the time when she came out of the land of Egypt.

We also looked at Psalm 23:1-4

¹The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
²He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
³He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
   for his name’s sake.
⁴Even 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.

There are lots of applications that we could take from these passages, but we made a couple of observations and applications, particularly in light of our current situation in Bahrain.

Our Responsibility  There are two things we picked out from Psalm 23.  First, we don't hide from Valleys.  We shouldn't be paralyzed.  We shouldn't rush through them.  We are to walk through them.  And as we walk through them, our Shepherd walks with us. Second, we fear no evil.  Why?  Because our Father is with us.  Of course, Psalm 23 does not promise to be delivered from the Valley - only that God's rod and staff will be a comfort to us.

When Are We Done?  The Coombridges, who were with us today, did an across-Europe bike trip this summer.  As they went over hills and through valleys, they sometimes just thought they needed to make it over the hill to get out of a valley.  When they got to the top of the valley, they found that there was still more to go.  Often we can't see the end.  But God  promises that there is hope.

Dependence on Christ  The Valley of Achor became the door of hope that God brought his people through.  What hope do we have in this situation?  At the very least - and most important - we have the hope of Christ.  Whatever happens in this world, whatever happens in Bahrain, this valley pushes us to depend on Christ.  Scripture never promises that children of God will have an easy life.  In fact, God promises trouble.  But whatever trouble we face, our hope is Christ.

One of the songs we sang was Matt Redman's "You Never Let Go".  A very powerful song.  Enjoy.