Jesus is the God of the Valley, just as much as he is the God of the Mountaintop. In this conversation, Stasi, Michelle Patterson, and Karen Christakis talk about what it has been like for them to meet God in the desert. Friends, all of our tears are treasured by God, and when we turn to him in difficult times it is not only worship, it is a rescue.
SHOW NOTES:
Scripture:
Hosea 2:14 (NIV) Therefore I am now going to allure her; I will lead her into the wilderness and speak tenderly to her.
Psalms 86:11-12 (NIV) Teach me your way, Lord, that I may rely on your faithfulness; give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name. I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever.
Hosea 2:15 (NIV) There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope. There she will respond as in the days of her youth, as in the day she came up out of Egypt.
Psalms 77:1-8 (NIV) I cried out to God for help; I cried out to God to hear me. When I was in distress, I sought the Lord; at night I stretched out untiring hands, and I would not be comforted. I remembered you, God, and I groaned; I meditated, and my spirit grew faint. You kept my eyes from closing; I was too troubled to speak. I thought about the former days, the years of long ago; I remembered my songs in the night. My heart meditated and my spirit asked: “Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favor again? Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has his promise failed for all time?
Psalms 77:11 (NIV) I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.
Psalms 13:1 (NIV) How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?
Psalms 56:8 (TPT) You’ve kept track of all my wandering and my weeping. You’ve stored my many tears in your bottle—not one will be lost. For they are all recorded in your book of remembrance.
Romans 8:38 (NIV) For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,
Luke 7:36 (NIV) When one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. A woman in that town who lived a sinful life learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, so she came there with an alabaster jar of perfume. As she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.
Psalms 42:11 (NIV) Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.
Book:
Waking the Dead by John Eldredge (pages: 147-148)
Poems:
UNTITLED ~ KJ Ramsey @kjramseywrites
We spend so much
trying to overcome pain,
when we could be
watching for the miracle
of being met in the
middle of it.
Right in the middle
of your weakness,
dare to watch your life
with expectancy
because there is still a
Shepherd who sees you
and he’s ready to
multiply the loaves,
if you’ll let your losses
be an offering.
THIS IS THE TIME TO BE SLOW ~ John O’Donohue
From: To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings
This is the time to be slow,
Lie low to the wall
Until the bitter weather passes.
Try, as best you can, not to let
The wire brush of doubt
Scrape from your heart
All sense of yourself
And your hesitant light.
If you remain generous,
Time will come good;
And you will find your feet
Again on fresh pastures of promise,
Where the air will be kind
And blushed with beginning.
