UP FROM THE VALLEY

There is a saying that you can not truly enjoy a mountaintop high unless you have first walked through the valley. It is easier to sit calmly, nod your head in agreement and chirp happily when you are sitting on top of the mountain, or even if you are somewhat close to it. But when you are slogging through the depths of a valley, it is far more likely you will be tempted to pace anxiously, toss sleeplessly and sing the blues.

Everyone has to walk through a variety of valleys in life. Some are so deep and the surrounding mountains tower so high a person can neither see a mountaintop nor imagine one exists.

Jane Eggleston wrote a beautiful poem, “It’s in the Valley I Grow.” http://www.llerrah.com/dreams.htm is only one of many Internet websites where it is posted.

If you do not believe this, recall the trials of Job. God said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?” (Job 1:8 NKJV) Yet he allowed Satan to take away everything Job possessed – children, herds, flocks, servants –and to torment Job physically, though Satan could not take Job’s life. Job was reduced to sitting in an ash heap, covered with boils. His three friends were no more comforting or encouraging than his wife, who told him to put himself out of his misery – “curse God and die.” Everything in Job’s life looked dire.

Still, in the end, Job was able to see the LORD through eyes filled with awe. “I have heard of you by the hearing of the ear. But now my eye sees you. Therefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:5, 6) Job came through the trials with a humbler attitude and a deeper discernment of the LORD God. He slogged through a tough valley before sitting on the mountaintop.

My mother’s sudden illness and death dropped a heavy burden on my shoulders and affected every aspect of my life. I am struggling with illness and infection, deficient financial resources, and the void in my life and plans – to name just a few mountains I have been facing in my own deep valley recently.

I do not sleep through the night at the best of times, and since my mother’s rapid downhill spiral, I spend a good portion of the night awake. Sometimes I am able to concentrate on God and think thankful, praising thoughts. Other times worry wins the battle of my thoughts.

The last couple of days have been rife with discouraging news. It is a battle to not be dragged down and crumple in the mire of the valley I am walking through. So I thought I would write this to encourage others who are plodding through their own valley today.

Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:16, “Above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.” A shield is not any good to a soldier unless he uses it.

Neither can we walk by faith instead of sight (2 Corinthians 5:7) when our thoughts become rooted in the valley of fear.

Reflect instead on God’s faithfulness and providence to help you traverse the valley of hope to reach the mountaintop.

I will lift up my eyes to the hills — from whence comes my help? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. Psalm 121:1, 2

Yes, when you are low in the pit and the surrounding mountains hem you in, look up from the valley.

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THE HORSE RESCUE

It happened in the Netherlands, but it was one of those stories that gripped the hearts of animal lovers and went international. On October 31, more than 100 horses were trapped on a small patch of land by rising seawater that flooded a pasture beyond the dikes. Within three days, there were eighteen deaths by drowning and one from exposure.

Firemen ferried about 20 horses, including the smallest foals, to dry land in small boats and the Dutch Army arrived to help, but as the water level fell, their pontoon boats were grounded. Helicopters could not be used. The noise might frighten the horses and cause more to drown. Rescuers carried water, hay and blankets to the cold, wet horses.

Three days later the water level had dropped to where the horses could reach land on their on, but it was feared some could become snagged on submerged barbed wire. Animal welfare officers and firemen staked out a safe route through the brackish water. Six guide horses with riders rode out to join the herd. Firemen in a chain of small boats waited along the route. Then four women on horseback from the local Calvary Club rode out to lead the herd home.

Watching the video of this rescue brings goose bumps or tears, depending on the viewer’s response. But it is impressive to watch the horses enter the water and begin the 650 yard walk to dry land. In places, they were neck-deep, in some areas they had to swim. When they entered shallower water, they pranced. As they emerged from the water, they broke into a gallop.

There is something gripping about a rescue. People sit glued to the television set to watch the rescue of a child from a well, a man from atop a crane on a burning high rise, or passengers from a plane that crashed into the ocean. Passers-by stop to watch a puppy or a kitten being rescued from a storm drain.

As I watched the horse rescue video for the second or third time, I thought of how the most dramatic rescue of all generally occurs quietly, without fanfare. A man stands in the brackish waters of his own sin, unable to swim or wade around the unseen obstacles to safety and save himself. There is only one who can lead him to safety – the Lord Jesus.

The video of the horse rescue can be viewed here . The story of Christ, the one who rescues men, can be found in the pages of the Holy Bible. It too can give you goose-bumps or bring you to tears, depending on the reader’s response.

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SELLING OUT THE GOSPEL

TIME Magazine recently ran a cover story, “Does God want you to be rich?” If you listen to proponents of the prosperity gospel, the answer is a resounding, Yes, God wants you to be rich!

To be honest, I am trying to see the relationship between a congregation’s donations keeping their minister living in opulence and the gospel. I can not find any verse stating, Any person who refuses to send generous donations to his local church minister to keep the minister in diamond pinky rings, silk suits and luxury vehicles will not enter the kingdom of God.

Now, I realize the Bible was written before the Mercedez-Benz was invented, so perhaps there is an applicable verse in the New Testament stating, All church members are required to keep their home church leader supplied with an abundance of cattle, donkeys, jewelry and robes or he will be tossed into the lake of fire with the other cheapskates. Nope, I can not find that one either.

Wait, I do find a verse which I think of when the prosperity gospel is being expounded. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Matthew 7:15.

If this sounds harsh, think about it for a moment. Is this a gospel about Jesus or a self-propagandistic “gospel”? The prosperity gospel appeals to the greedy side of humanity and sometimes to the lazy side. It would be nice to be able to send in a portion of income and never have to worry again about finances, but would material means solve all our problems and make us happy? More importantly, do riches guarantee your name will be written in the Book of Life? Wealth is not listed as one of the prerequisites of salvation.

The gospel does include riches, though. Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? James 2:5 (NIV).

God does prosper some materially but there is no guarantee of material prosperity in the biblical gospel, and you can not buy God’s blessings through adhering to the teachings of the prosperity gospel.

Although prosperity might sound tempting, don’t sell out the true gospel for riches in this life. Rather, delight in the riches of God’s mercy and grace.

Judas sold out Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. How much is the true gospel worth to you? It should be priceless!

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AN IRISH BLESSING

This is a song by Roma Downey, who used to play an angel on the television show Touched by an Angel. If you have not heard it before, listen to the words.

An Irish Blessing

ORIGIN OF BUDDY POPPY

November 11 is Veteran’s Day in the United States. Over the years many men and women from the various branches of the Armed Forces have given their lives to help America remain “the land of the free.” I am again privileged to help distribute Buddy Poppies for the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the VFW Auxiliary, and as I reflected on the poppy recently, I decided to do some research on it. I was surprised to find it has such a long history.

The red poppy was immortalized as a symbol of the sacrifice of battle through a poem written in Ypres (now known as Ieper), Belgium by a Canadian Army physician.

In Flanders Fields
by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD

In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

The red poppy, the official memorial flower of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, was first distributed in 1922. A year later the VFW decided to have the poppies assembled by disabled and needy veterans to provide them some financial assistance. When assembly began the following year, the “Buddy Poppy” was born. To this day, the assembly of the Buddy Poppy is done by disabled and needy veterans, and the distribution of the poppy provides assistance to various VFW programs, as well as to orphans and widows of American veterans.

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