PastorKevinAustin

How do we handle the dark valleys of life?  There are four facts about valleys that you need to remember whenever you go through a tough time:

VALLEYS ARE INEVITABLE.

They are going to happen so you might as well count on them. You have just come out of a valley, or you’re in one right now, or you’re probably headed toward one. Valleys happen throughout life. After every mountain top there is a valley. Jesus was very realistic about it. In John 16, He says “In the world you will have trouble.” It’s not a matter of if, it’s when. It’s going to happen. You’re going to have difficulty, disappointment, discouragement in life. There will be times of suffering, sorrow, sickness. There will be times of frustration, failure and fatigue. They are going to happen. They are a normal part of life. Don’t be surprised by it.

 VALLEYS ARE UNPREDICTABLE.

 You can’t plan them, time them, schedule them. Valleys are always unexpected. They usually come at the worst time — when you don’t have time, when you’re unprepared. Have you ever had a flat tire at a good time? They just happen. And usually when you least need them and it’s most inconvenient. It would be very great if we could schedule our down times in life. You can’t plan life like that. Valleys come suddenly. They are unpredictable. Have you noticed how easily a good day can become a bad day? A phone call, a letter, a routine doctor’s check-up, a freak accident. Valleys just happen.  Jeremiah 4:20 “Disaster follows disaster… In an instant my tents are destroyed, my shelter falls in a moment.”

 VALLEYS ARE IMPARTIAL.

No one is immune to them. No one is insulated from pain and sorrow. No one gets to skate through life problem-free. Everybody has problems — good people and bad people. Experiencing problems, trials, difficulties or depression doesn’t mean you’re a bad person. It means you’re a person. The Bible is very clear that good things happen to bad people and sometimes bad things happen to good people. Valleys are impartial. They don’t care how good or bad you are. Matthew 5:45 Jesus said, “It rains on the righteous and the unrighteous.”

 VALLEYS ARE TEMPORARY.

 They have an end to them. They don’t last. They are not a permanent location. David says, “Even though I walk through the valley…” The valley is not something you stay in your entire life. It’s something you go through – a circumstance, a situation that has a season to it. When you’re in a valley you often think it’s a dead end, but it’s not. It’s like a tunnel — there is a beginning and end. You go through the tunnel and eventually you’re out of it and back out in the light again. They don’t come into your life to stay. They will pass.  Psalm 30 tells us, “Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.”  When you go through the dark valley, refuse to be discouraged. Remember God is with you, walking beside you. Rely on God’s protection and guidance. He will never leave you or forsake you.