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God's Words For US
by Cecelia Lester
In our Christian walk, we experience mountaintops and valleys. Valleys are described as those times when we go through adversities—when we do not feel God’s presence. Many times, we seem to experience more time in the valleys that mountaintops. Take heart; it is when we are in the valleys that we are the most teachable. Several Biblical heroes went through at least one valley.
In 1 Kings 19:3, the prophet Elijah “was afraid and ran for his life.” Queen Jezebel had threatened his life. He “prayed that he might die.” An angel ministered to him two times. In addition, a little bit later God spoke to him.
In the book of Job, we see a righteous man sitting among ashes. He scrapes himself with broken pieces of pottery to relieve the pain from sores the devil inflicted. His wife tells him to ‘curse God and die.’ (2:7-9) Toward the end of the book God speaks, asking Job some very pointed questions—ones he cannot answer. Through this experience of questioning God and then hearing from Him, He had spoken of things her did not understand. (42:3) Job actually saw God. Then Job had to repent. (42:4-6)
In the Psalms, King David deals with depression in a number of his writings. In Psalm 51, He begins with asking God for mercy to take away his transgression, wash away his iniquity, and to cleanse him from sin. In Psalm 32, The Shepherd King writes of his experience of being in the throes of depression after having sin in his heart to which he did not own up.
When Jesus, faced with dying a criminal’s death, went to Gethsemane, He was filled with sorrow and was troubled to the point of death. (Matthew 26:37-38) I find the prayer he prayed to the Father very comforting. “Take this cup from me, if it is your will. Yet, not as I will, but as you will.”(:39) By yielding to God’s will, he set an example for each of us.
In our 21Century, we have the option of seeking what we want in circumstances or allowing God to let things happen according to His will and plan for our lives. Usually, when we choose to seek what we want, we mess up the outcome. When we love the Lord God with all our hearts, we are open to accepting His will for our lives. We learn these truths when we are in the valleys and can only look up. As we mature in Christ, we learn to appreciate our relationship with God. After He allows us to leave each of those valleys, we learn we can thank Him for them.
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Cecelia Lester has been serious about her writing for over two decades..
She composes Christian essays and posts them to her blog quietspirit-followingmyking.blogspot.com/
She has served in a faith-based organization, Grace In Action by writing two newsletters and searching for possible grants.
In July 2017, she published her first book, 'Times of Trouble Bring Rays of Joy.'
She and her husband of 54 years live in central Indiana. They have one grown son.
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