crumbs from the table: vision in the valley

"...tho i walk through the valley..." (psalm 23:4)

times are tough right now for lots of folks. the economy in the central valley is in the tank right now. anyone with income tied to real estate is really feeling the pinch right now...contractors, carpenters, loan officers, landscapers...the list of those in the ripple effect is rather large. many folks truly have no idea where the next mortgage / rent check is coming from.

and...financial straits can cause us to wonder / question / doubt the promise of God's provision. even seasoned saints, tested warriors go through days of doubt, wondering and questioning. will He really meet all my needs according to His riches?

recently i was considering again the story of king david before he was king david...shepherd boy turned into national hero (for killing that big hairy giant dude) turned into anointed king. with that anointing from samuel, david knew he was the future king, that God had promised him a position, a provision, a portion.

the problem is (or so we would see it if in his position), david didn't really see that promised fulfilled for at least ten full years! surely that would have been a decade of doubt, discouragement, and despair! it was a decade of living in caves, raising a family under the open sky, scrounging and scraping just to get by, running for his life - even of defecting to the dreaded philistines! "God, you promised! how long, o Lord?!?" must have been a frequent prayer / cry.
putting myself in his sandals, i can't imagine how difficult that must have been. talk about feeling the pinch!!!

here's what caught my attention...it was during those years when david was very much in the valley - even of the shadow of death - that he either penned or gained the life experience to pen some of the most beautiful psalms (songs) even composed. some are full of hope, some are full of doubt; some are full of joy, some are full of grit and anger; some sound the trumpet of victory, some bleat of defeat. whatever the valley we've found ourselves in, i guarantee that all of us at some point has found comfort, encouragement, hope, or at least some relatability in the psalms of david.

i love how God is able to do multiple things all at the same time. God was not only preparing a place for david, but the desert helped prepare david for his eventual place as king (shepherd) of israel. but God was doing more than just using the desert to prepare david. he was sowing the seeds of hope and faith in the midst of the valley that would blossom into the fruit that He uses to comfort us in our walk through the valley. i would venture to say that had david not gone through that decade in the desert, we would not have the rich tapestry of psalms to comfort and encourage our souls.

As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
They make it a spring...(Psalm 84:6)

as david passed through the valley he made springs in the desert. springs that we who follow him will most surely be nourished & refreshed by. what david couldn't see, God did, and we who follow him are blessed and built up by watching his faith go through the sometimes messy process of growth.

i am so blessed to know that we have the same exact hope in midst of our valleys. not only is God doing something in us as we walk through the valley...call it a work of preparation. but He is also doing a work through us, knowing that there will be future travelers coming after us who will need to know that other pilgrims (pioneers :) have passed this way before & found God faithful to His promises & full of goodness.

perhaps you are in a very dark valley right now. know this: God is preparing you for something that you can't even fathom yet. but He is also building something into you that will be able refresh and nourish others on their way through the valley.

may we, like david,