Faith In The Valley

I came across this article and found so much truth in it, especially when my family and I went through the loss of Baby Emmanuel. The presence of our Lord Jesus was more evident and stronger than it has ever been in my entire life. Also, the presence of Mother Mary ---- more evident than I have ever felt in my life. It's in those darkest moments of our life that Jesus is there to hold and permeate his awesome peace throught the depths of our soul.

Hebrews 12:1-2 .. . . Let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. As a pastor, I spend more time than the average person with people who are in the valley of the shadow of death. My phone rings in the middle of the night and we go to help people in their darkest place, and their hardest time, and their most difficult circumstance.
Some people scoff at Christians in this valley. They erroneously think that faith in God is a fantastic thing until you go through your hardest thing. Then faith falls apart. Where was God? Why did He allow this? Why didn’t He do something? Isn’t that what Christians think, too? Wrong! I’ve stood countless times beside believers who were going through their darkest valley and let me tell you, never had their faith shone brighter. I’m talking about intense faith in the Lord in their most desperate, devastating valleys.
Perhaps you read this and wonder, could I go through that myself? The answer of course is, no, you can’t-but God will be there with you. He will help you. He will guide you through that circumstance. You don’t have to fear or wonder or worry about your strength-God will sustain you. Just ask any mature, faithful follower of God.
There’s something about seeing the faithfulness of God through the seasons of life that drills your faith deep down in your soul. You don’t question that God will show up-you know He will. You don’t worry that His required course will end well-you know all about the blessings of a long obedience in the same direction. You’ve seen Him work and You trust Him over the long haul.
At the end of her life, Henrietta Mears, the gifted Christian educator and mentor to Billy Graham and Bill Bright, was asked the question, “If you had your life to live over again, what would you have done differently?” Her response, “When things looked darkest, I would have trusted God quicker.”