“When peace like a river, attendeth my way. When sorrows like sea billows roll”1
Times of being in a valley are not the ones that we readily and openly share.
When we get the promotion, the job, the speaking engagement, whenever the good thing happens, most of us are quick to share and have to admit we expect congratulatory responses – even from people we may avoid on any other day.
Joy is easy to share.
Sorrow, grief, pain, angst, frustration, they typically don’t cause us to display.
But my sister, my brother, why not?
God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
Psalm 46: 1-3, ESV
It’s through the not so pretty times that I seek my Heavenly Father. That I find myself professing His goodness. That I long for Him.
And these same moments that are real life – when I admit how much I am a sinner in need of a Savior – are when the Father gets all the glory as He carries me through as my very present Help.
In a place with my safe circle of friends is where I found myself being held accountable, being vulnerable in expressing my valley and being prayed for. God, my very present Help was there.
In this moment, I asked the Lord for the right words to share for me, for us, when we are in valleys. The Holy Spirit led me to finish the stanza…
“Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say
It is well, it is well with my soul”1
Our God, our present Help is near, carrying and caring for you in every moment.
Trust God. Seek Him. Be Affirmed in Christ
1“It is Well With My Soul” by Horatio Gates Spafford . to 1878. [Manuscript/Mixed Material] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/mamcol.016/.
Affirmed in Christ 