Down in the Valley

I heard a great sermon this morning that I’d like to share with you.  It came from 2 Corinthians 1:1-12 and was on Comfort from God.  I know I cannot do it justice with the way Andy spoke or even with how the ideas wove together in my mind as he spoke. 
   

 Here’s a link to the NLT I read this morning:
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2+Corinthians+1&version=NLT

 

Many Christians repeat the idea that God will never give us more than we can handle.  It’s a nice idea.  I think it comes from the idea that we know He is always with us, guiding us and bringing us comfort. But can you imagine losing a child? I don’t even want to.  It’s like I wouldn’t have air to breath.  Like I’d need to claw my heart out of my chest to make the pain stop. (Okay, yes, that would CAUSE more pain and, of course, the removal of a heart would cause a little something called death…but if you’re a parent you probably get the idea.)  At my school, we have several people who have recently lost either a child, sibling or parent. I can’t be told that that isn’t something that is more than a person can handle.  Even Paul says in this passage that he was “…crushed and overwhelmed BEYOND our ability to endure, and we thought we would never live through it.”

Wow Kate.  Morbid much?  I know. Right.  But I AM getting to my point.

What Paul was telling the saints of Corinth (and us) about the comfort (not relief—hey, He’s not a genie) that God brings. That we go through terrible things so that He can comfort us—when we stop relying on ourselves and learn to only rely on God.
 

Jesus took on our sins and our suffering.  He TOTALLY gets what we’re going through.  That’s why He stands shoulder to shoulder to us as we walk through the hard times. He has brought others through suffering so that they can bring us comfort (From God through Jesus) to us in our suffering. So when we’re suffering we should not hide it away like it’s an embarrassment, a chink in our armor. We confide in someone we trust who will pray for us and with us through the hard times.  Joy will come in the morning. Eventually.  We don’t always know what the spiritual warfare is that’s going on around us (Think Frank Peretti’s “This Present Darkness”).  It reminds me of Caedmon’s Call’s song, Valley’s Fill First.
 

This is the valley that I’m walking through
And if fells like forever since
I've been close to you
My friends up above me don't
understand why i struggle like i do
My shadow's my only,only companion
and at night he leaves too

Down in the valley, dying of thirst
Down in the valley, it seems that i'm at my worst
My consolation is that you baptize this earth
When I'm down in the valley, valleys fill first

Down in this wasteland I miss the
mountaintop view
But it's here in this valley that
I’m surrounded by you
Though I'm not here by my will
it's where your view is the most clear
So I'll stay in this valley it takes 40 years

And it's like that long Saturday
your death and the rising day
When no one wrote a word,
wondered is this the end
But you were down there in the
well, saving those that fell
Bringing them to the mountain again

We’ve been waiting for “The Call” for almost 2 years. We’ve had many, many, many replies to our inquires come back “I’m sorry. Your family was not selected for this child/sibling group.”  Did I say “many”? Cause I really mean a Freaking Boat Load.
 

Yes. I know. They weren’t the right ones. God has our future children already chosen for us and we have to wait for the right timing. Yep. Heard it. Read it. Got the t-shirt and repurposed it into a pretty scarf thanks to Pinterest. Phrases like that bring no comfort.  Sorry folks but it’s true. Kinda like 10,000 spoons when what you really is a knife. Just saying.
 

Instead, I’ve gotta find my comfort in God.

And, in the meantime…I’ll gladly accept your prayers. For me and Adam. Cause he’s got to put up with crazy lady!

And if any of you have an Easy Button…send it my way!

Thanks y’all

PS  Link to Frank Peretti’s books: http://www.amazon.com/Peretti-Three-Pack-Frank-E/dp/0842386564/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1378070354&sr=1-2&keywords=frank+peretti+books