The Valley of Darkness…

Does anyone love being down in a valley where things just aren’t going your way?  I’m not talking about having a bad day, more like a bad week or month where everything seems to be falling apart or just wrong.  This past week has been one of those for me. 

Everything seemed to be a struggle.  Everything was harder than it should have been.  Nothing seemed to be going in my favor.  I think I have experienced most of the negative emotions we can have lately.  Even going through the tough time, I still never took my eyes off the end goal and kept looking to God for direction.

Those weeks are tough to go through.  I have written about them before, and I’m sure I will again.  Those hard times are the unfortunate results from pushing ourselves towards greatness.  I’m a big believer in spiritual warfare. I don’t want to get too deep into it, but it seems like every time I am making headway, something tries to hold me back.  If you have never heard of it, the idea behind it is that if you are not a threat to the enemy, your life on earth can be very smooth because you are not a threat to his “reign” on Earth.  The moment you start taking steps towards God, you seem to get hit with something to keep you stuck outside of the kingdom mindset.  Some may call that bad luck, but I have seen the pattern repeat itself so many times in my life that I don’t see any way possible it could be random.

These days, I do my best to keep my head up when going through those hard times.  I am far from perfect in that aspect, but I will do my best.  I try to keep my focus on others more in those seasons.  If I don’t let the attacks keep me from doing good, I am able to pull myself out of the darkness and into the light.  I may fall right back in, but I can see the way out at least.  Doing my best to read the bible, mentoring others, serving others, and simply praying are the best ways for me to not get stuck in the bottom of the valley.

Psalms 23:4 (NLT)

Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.

Holding onto this scripture helps me a lot.  It not only shows that we will endure hard times but it also shows that God will be there with us to get us through.

John 1:5 (NLT)

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it.

I find this verse even more powerful.  Be the light in a dark place.  No amount of darkness can overpower a light, even a tiny one.  The only way the darkness wins is if we choose to extinguish the light that is inside of each and every one of us.  Sure, we may be banged up and far from perfect, but we all have the light of God inside of us, and nothing can shut us down unless we choose to allow it.

Keep pushing through, never give up, and get a breakthrough this week!