A Place of Abundance

It's overcast in Omaha today.  Though it's still a bit muggy outside, the air is definitely cooler.  It's a nice break from the crazy heat we've been experiencing.  The rich cup of coffee I'm sipping is keeping me company for the moment since nobody else is yet awake in the house.

Recently, I've been struck by Psalm 66:10-12:

For you, O God, tested us;

you refined us like silver.

You brought us into prison

and laid burdens on our backs.

You let men ride over our heads;

we went through fire and water,

but you brought us to a place of abundance.

God tests us.  God allows difficulty to overwhelm those whom He loves.  How many times have I felt like I've been in prison?  How many times have I felt the weight of a burden?  How many times have I thought that everyone else is succeeding in life while I am somehow behind, lying limp on the ground like a wounded spectator?  How many times has my soul felt burned or my spirit floundered in the flood of life's troubles?  Can it all lead to a place of abundance?

Yes. It reminds me of a video of John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress that my brother and I used to watch as kids.  It was one of those films that takes a picture book and scans along different depictions of the story while some intriguing voice reads the narrative.  I can now see the image of Christian walking through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, something he had to do in order to reach the Celestial City.  The Valley is a dark, dank, dangerous place.  It is filled to the brim with every kind of discouragement, confusion, and evil.  At every turn, it seems that Christian will plummet off some slippery ledge and lose his way forever.  Honestly, the scene in the movie is frightening.

Though the odds seem that he will fail, Christian makes it through to the other side of the valley where morning has dawned and glorious light fills his vision.  It is inexplicable that he should have escaped the dangers of the pit except for the supernatural hand of Christ on his life.  Filled with relief and joy, Christian sings:

O world of wonders! (I can say no less),

That I should be preserved in that distress

That I have met with here! O blessed be

That hand that from it hath deliver'd me!

Dangers in darkness, devils, hell, and sin

Did compass me, while I this vale was in:

Yea, snares, and pits, and traps, and nets, did lie

My path about, that worthless, silly I

Might have been catch'd, entangled, and cast down;

But since I live, let JESUS wear the crown.*

When my heart is raw from the tortures of the valley, will I still have faith?  Will I believe that Christ will see me through and that He will guard my path?  Will I choose to trust Him in thick darkness when I cannot be sure of the right direction but for His leading?  Will I listen for His voice when voices of confusion and lies are whispering around me?  Will I believe that He will lead me to abundance?  Will I be sure to give Him the glory when He does?

I must.  If I believe that God is who He says He is, I have no other option than to trust Him.  I must give my heart into His care and must trust that He, in His timing, will lead me to a place of rest and replenishment.  I don't need to know when.  It is enough to know that. 

Isaiah 43:2: "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze."


~Image taken from: http://www.galaxy.bedfordshire.gov.uk/webingres/bedfordshire/vlib/0.information_reference/art_gall_fant_bunyan_vall_sh_d.htm
*Taken from Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress out of Part 1, Stage 4.  http://acacia.pair.com/Acacia.Vignettes/Valley.Shadow.Death.html