The Valley

"a man's enemies will be member's of his own household"(Matt.10:36)

"Even though I walk through
    the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
    for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff,
    they comfort me."
(Psalm 23:4)

Main Section: How to walk through The Valley

After my experience at Pre-Fall leaders retreat (post: Hello Africans) we got back to school and I felt like I came from the mountain top- yay! :)) and into the darkest valley-boo! :(( Well it felt more like a rollercoaster: ....Mountain-valley-Mountain-valley.... So what was going on? If you've been following my blog you now know what I'm talking about. If you haven't, you can just read the intro section of this post: Real Identity. In this post I just want to journal my experience, what was going on spiritually and some lessons I learnt to keep track of what I'm learning as well as to encourage anyone going through a similar situation. K, back to what I was saying...

So what was going on? I think it was sometime in the Winter that I realized that what was going on was spiritual warfare. I remembered that it was exactly what God taught me in the post: Trust/Love Issues anyone? and the message He gave me to share at Prefall. God had prepared me beforehand but once I got to that situation it's like I forgot everything. You see once you know your identity in God (a daughter/son and what that means) you become a threat to the devil and he doesn't like that. Once God sets you free from the devil's oppression and schemes it really irritates the devil and he looks for ways to trap you and get you back into his chains. What did God teach me to prepare me? You can read that post for the whole message but I'll focus on this: After Jesus was baptized by John the baptist, the Holy Spirit came upon Him like a dove and a voice from heaven said, "This is My Son whom I am please with." Then right away the Holy Spirit took Jesus to the desert to be tempted by the devil and after that that's when Jesus begun His ministry.

So I kinda have a series going on called "The Desert"- God showed me that we are in a Desert season and it's exactly where He wants us to be for a while for various reasons. So here's another reason to add onto what I've shared. Why are we in the desert? To be tested and temptations usually accompany testing. When the devil was testing Jesus he would tell Him, "If you are the Son of God do this______." You see the devil likes to prey upon our weaknesses. For Jesus, He had been fasting for 40 days so he was hungry so the devil tempted him with food: “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” So the goal of the devil's temptations is to doubt yourself, to doubt your identity in God which then opens the door to the spirit of insecurity and inferiority which then leads to falling for the devil's temptations in a bid to mask those feelings (the same trick he used on Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden. Post: Beauty & the Beast Prologue). So for me it was the same thing, at Prefall God reminded me of my identity in Him (His daughter. Loved. Forgiven.) and set me free from the chains the devil had oppressed me with for years and He filled me with His Spirit. Then the testing came in. The devil is really sly, he doesn't have to show himself like he did with Jesus, or take the form of a snake like with Adam and Eve. He likes to look for open doors and to prey upon weaknesses. That's where the Matthew 10:36 verse comes in and the message I shared at Prefall (Trust No One but God)- the devil can use anyone: your friends, family, strangers, people in authority and even your own mind to attack your identity and to accuse you so it's up to you to take in the Truth and reject the lies. An open door that he used a lot to sneak his schemes was cultural differences with the staff and the misunderstandings brought on by that. And a weakness for me that he preyed upon was self-pity and discouragement. I know that may not sound that bad to you but it was the most intense spiritual warfare I've ever faced (especially Winter Quarter.). You see those were some of the things God set me free from and Galatians 5:1 says "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." So once you have been delivered from something, if you don't stand firm in your freedom and you let yourself be burdened by that same yoke again, the devil doesn't give you the exact same yoke he gives you a larger one and he oppresses you even more. In the post: The Present  I described one such scary valley experience brought upon by entertaining thoughts of self-pity and worry. And in the post: Winter Rains I realized that the devil likes to bring in self-pity so that I can focus on myself and not love other people. That's why the devil tempted Jesus right before Jesus start his ministry, the devil was trying to distract Him from His mission.

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How to Walk Through The Valley

*Never Alone- To get through the Valley you have to remember that you are never alone. The Spirit of God is there with you (Just like He was with Jesus during His temptation). It may not feel that way so it helps to have reminders. The Word (book of Psalms) and Worship Music helps me a lot. Also you have to have your Eyes Fixed on Jesus and remember that He also went through lots of valleys for us (the song and verses in that post encouraged me). Listen to this song. It really encouraged me as well and challenged me to imitate and maintain Jesus attitude- He had an unoffendable heart.

* Watch the short clip below. She talks about how to keep your heart without offense through the seasons of life- including the valley season. I like what she said at the end, "I wanted to soar in God. I set my heart to be alive when nobody cared because He does." So in the valley you have to remember you are in transition- God's not going to leave you there. He has a good plan for you. Read the rest of Psalm 23. You need to have Hope for the future- and it's all about pleasing God wherever you are.

*She sung the song below. It was encouraging for me. When no one sees what you are going through and no one cares. God sees you and He always cares. He knows exactly how you feel and what you're thinking. He sees your heart. So in the valley you have to remember that You are fully seen and You are fully Loved by God =)

* Look to God for His peace, joy and strength- God's peace surpasses all understanding. He gives us peace even in the midst of a raging storm. Read the section "Worry, the Joy stealer" in "The Present" post. I would look to God and He would take away my worries and satisfy me with His love, joy and peace but when I looked at the storm it felt like all that got stolen (the mountain-valley effect). So yeah vision is everything. Eyes on Jesus!!

*Also, you need to forgive the people who are offending you whether or not they realize it and whether or not they ask for it. Listen to the song below. It says though they may reject you and judge you they will need you someday and you have to be ready to be there for them. And you have to pray like Jesus did:"Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34a) And to keep loving and serving even when it hurts, even when your love is rejected.

All that stuff is hard to do that's why we really need to remember who we are- our identity in God- coz it's not about us and our weaknesses (what we can or can't do with our own abilities and good intentions) but it's all about Him- receiving His unconditional love for us, more and more of it until it flows out of us into the friends, foes and strangers around us. (Other related posts: Testing (A Call to Persevere) and The Boss. I'll share more lessons I learnt later. Peace! :)

 Lord please fill us up with more of Yourself, more of Your love. Help us to choose to forgive and to love even when it hurts. Help us to fix our eyes on You and to seek You for everything we need. As we walk through the valley help us to stand firm in our identity and to cling onto You- take in truth and reject lies from the devil. Thank You for you see us and love us always. Please break and mold our hearts so that they can be like Yours! You're the best! In Jesus' Name Amen =)