Joel 3:14
This scripture is actually a prophetic one, dealing with the condition of the world when Jesus returns to the battle of Armageddon, but I think that we can see a modern application as well. The Hebrew word used for “decision” is “kharuts” and it is often rendered “trench, mote, or ditch”. The valley that God is inviting the heathen into will ultimately be their doom, or literally the ditch that buries them in the Day of the Lord.
In our day and time, prior to the great battle that is to come, there are still multitudes in the valley of decision. Life has thrown them more than one curve, and they find themselves wondering what to do next and where to turn. In these moments of decision, it is important to remember a few key things about valleys.
First, valleys come between mountains. On each side of a valley is a mountain, and these can represent very difficult times in our lives as well as high points of success. You have already been through an enormous amount with your previous mountains, but there are more to come. Think back on what you have come through and what it taught you. How might yesterday's mountain help you in today’s valley?
Secondly, valleys are fertile ground, good for growing a harvest. No crop grows on the mountain, but the best of the best find root in the rich valley. The greatness that takes us up the next mountain was birthed in the soil of the previous valley. We know that the rain falls on the just and the unjust alike (Matthew 5:45), so we cannot assume that valleys are all bad or are all from God. We go through them, and we are better on the other side.
Finally, the valley is always temporary, and you are never alone. Remember that the Shepherd’s Psalm (Psalm 23) shows the shepherd leading the sheep beside green grass and still waters, but then suddenly we are in the valley of the shadow of death. The shepherd did not lead us there, but we are there anyhow. Sometimes we find ourselves in a tough spot, but our shepherd is always somewhere nearby, keeping a close watch on us.
There was once a little boy who lived deep in the forest with only his father. When it came time for the boy to begin school, he begged his father not to make him go, for he had to walk several miles one way through the forest, and he was terrified that bears were going to hunt him. The father forced the boy to go, telling him that he would be just fine and not to worry. That didn’t help the boy at all as he set out for school shaking with terror.
Every day as he walked along the path, the boy heard sounds in the brush that sounded like footsteps. One day, while heading home from school, his worst nightmare came true. Standing in front of him was a huge bear with teeth bared. The boy closed his eyes and prepared to be dinner for the bear when he heard a shot ring out in the woods. The big bear crashed to the ground just feet in front of the boy, sparing him from certain death. The boy began to cry big tears as his father came running out of the woods carrying a rifle. “I told you there were bears in these woods and you wouldn’t listen! It’s a good thing you were out here hunting or that bear would have killed me” he yelled at his father. Embracing the boy, the father reassured him, “Son, I wasn’t out hunting. I watch you from the woods every day to see that you get to and from school safely. The sounds that you hear in the brush are always me, just making sure that you are okay”.
This scripture is actually a prophetic one, dealing with the condition of the world when Jesus returns to the battle of Armageddon, but I think that we can see a modern application as well. The Hebrew word used for “decision” is “kharuts” and it is often rendered “trench, mote, or ditch”. The valley that God is inviting the heathen into will ultimately be their doom, or literally the ditch that buries them in the Day of the Lord.
In our day and time, prior to the great battle that is to come, there are still multitudes in the valley of decision. Life has thrown them more than one curve, and they find themselves wondering what to do next and where to turn. In these moments of decision, it is important to remember a few key things about valleys.
First, valleys come between mountains. On each side of a valley is a mountain, and these can represent very difficult times in our lives as well as high points of success. You have already been through an enormous amount with your previous mountains, but there are more to come. Think back on what you have come through and what it taught you. How might yesterday's mountain help you in today’s valley?
Secondly, valleys are fertile ground, good for growing a harvest. No crop grows on the mountain, but the best of the best find root in the rich valley. The greatness that takes us up the next mountain was birthed in the soil of the previous valley. We know that the rain falls on the just and the unjust alike (Matthew 5:45), so we cannot assume that valleys are all bad or are all from God. We go through them, and we are better on the other side.
Finally, the valley is always temporary, and you are never alone. Remember that the Shepherd’s Psalm (Psalm 23) shows the shepherd leading the sheep beside green grass and still waters, but then suddenly we are in the valley of the shadow of death. The shepherd did not lead us there, but we are there anyhow. Sometimes we find ourselves in a tough spot, but our shepherd is always somewhere nearby, keeping a close watch on us.
There was once a little boy who lived deep in the forest with only his father. When it came time for the boy to begin school, he begged his father not to make him go, for he had to walk several miles one way through the forest, and he was terrified that bears were going to hunt him. The father forced the boy to go, telling him that he would be just fine and not to worry. That didn’t help the boy at all as he set out for school shaking with terror.
Every day as he walked along the path, the boy heard sounds in the brush that sounded like footsteps. One day, while heading home from school, his worst nightmare came true. Standing in front of him was a huge bear with teeth bared. The boy closed his eyes and prepared to be dinner for the bear when he heard a shot ring out in the woods. The big bear crashed to the ground just feet in front of the boy, sparing him from certain death. The boy began to cry big tears as his father came running out of the woods carrying a rifle. “I told you there were bears in these woods and you wouldn’t listen! It’s a good thing you were out here hunting or that bear would have killed me” he yelled at his father. Embracing the boy, the father reassured him, “Son, I wasn’t out hunting. I watch you from the woods every day to see that you get to and from school safely. The sounds that you hear in the brush are always me, just making sure that you are okay”.
