one of my favorite things to do is hiking...i live in an area that is pretty close to some incredible hiking spots...where you feel like you are lost in the lush of forest...or valleys so deep...all within about a 25 minute drive...there have been a few moments...when hiking...where i got in so deep...and became so tired...that i thought i would never make it out...
this happened to me about a week ago...it was warm outside...and it only got warmer as we headed down into the canyon...it was a great hike as we circled the interesting rock transformations...we wound our way down the valley with steep mountains on all sides...after a while...i was hot...tired and ready to sit down and relax...
as i rested on a rock...i looked up at the canyon rim...wiping salty sweat out of my eyes...it looked very far away...i wished for a shortcut to get out...but knew there wasn't any...short of calling in a helicopter...there was only one way out...and it was to walk across the valley and up the mountain...sitting there on that rock might give me a moment's rest...but it didn't get me out of the valley...
i've also been in other valleys...those of fear...worry and hopelessnes..i'll be honest...when i'm in those valleys...my inclination is to sit...fear paralyzes me...worry straps itself to my feet like weights...hopelessness misconstrues reality so i'm blinded to the truth...and so i stay...planted firmly in the valley of misery...over and over...i review how others have hurt me...and forecast possible fearful outcomes...none of those choices gets me out of the valley of misery...in fact...they get me nowhere...
what does get me out of those difficult valleys is when i keep walking...and walking to me is when i keep praying even though it seems like my prayers hit the ceiling...it's when i keep reading my bible...even though the words seem to have less meaning...it's when i keep going to church or a small group even when i'd rather stay home...it's singing songs of worship...even though my heart isn't soaring with joy...but when i keep doing those things...i take steps toward truth and eventually get out of the valley...
walking through a valley to me means doing the things that are healthy and God-honoring...even when i don't feel like doing them...there is always a way out of a valley...but it means i have to keep walking...then climb a mountain...and that takes work...but when i do the work...God rewards me with a breathtaking view...
God speaks to our hearts during these dark valleys...i need to remember that He is the truth...and not my circumstances...these are the times i ask Him for strength to do the right things...and not stay planted in misery during a time of difficulty...i long to be out of this valley...but i choose to praise Him at the bottom...and i will praise Him from the mountain top...for He alone is worthy...
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