(There is a special message at the end of this article for those who might happen to read this and do not have Jesus in their life and are looking for peace and a way to better understand the present-day insanity and confusion.)
Two years ago, I was given a small, leather-bound devotional called The Valley of Vision by a brother in Christ who is also one of my most beloved friends.
(The Valley of Vision, A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions, edited by Arthur Bennett, 1975)
It contains 193 two-page devotions written by various unnamed authors. I found most of the individual prayers to be personally uplifting and meaningful, even though the intensity of the Puritan ethic seemed almost a little overwhelming in a few of them.
I completed it and set it aside, mentally marking it as having been “finished.”
Watching current events unfold and writing my articles/commentaries causes me to be exposed to a constant cascade of abysmal, debilitating and draining “bad” news.
I enclose “bad” in quotation marks because, to someone who has received Jesus Christ as their only Savior and Lord and acknowledges His death, burial, and resurrection, “bad news” has a silver lining in that these current events serve to confirm the Word of God, the prophecies contained therein, and the certainty of their fulfillment.
For the lost who have placed their hope in men, it truly is bad news.
But even in this, there is Hope.
There is Hope in Christ. God gives free will to all men to choose Him or reject Him. While anyone is still in their living years, they may, in this Age of Grace, turn away from rejecting Jesus and instead turn to Him, acknowledging that they are a sinner and, having meant that in earnest, ask for Salvation based on His having paid their death penalty on the Cross. That all are subject to this Truth is evidenced in these two verses:
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Emphasis added by me.
Succinct, as the Word of God always is.
It is that very hard-learned lesson of putting one’s hope in man and then realizing failure after failure that may be a factor in someone opening their eyes, and then their heart, to the awful truth that there is no hope to be found in the empty cup of men.
Having done that, they may instead understand that the one True Hope is found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
There is a spiritual component to this that must be realized in order to cause someone to take that final step into life and receive Jesus Christ as Savior; however, this obstacle must overcome the pride of the human heart, as God’s Word indicates:
“For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18).
But, as ever, God provides the answer in Jesus Christ. This verse is but one of many found in the Word of God that convey His message to any who have “ears to hear”:
“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life” (John 5:24).
Who is exempt from this promise from Jesus Christ? No one, absolutely no one who will repent and believe. See the Special Message at the end of this article.
I sometimes need to have things put in perspective, and it seems it takes longer than I think it should have once that perspective becomes real.
So it was this morning when I felt compelled to open this little devotional and start again at the beginning. What a blessing it is! Even more so on this second journey through it.
Partially because I am walking through my own little valley(cancer) right now and partially due to the awareness of the dark valley the world is in, the title of this little gem suddenly became clear to me.
When you are in a valley, no matter how deep, you can still look up and see the Glory of the Lord in His creation and more fully grasp His message to us all. Whether you are saved or unsaved, whether the sky is cloudy or clear, His message is ever there.
“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands.
Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.
Without speech or language, without a sound to be heard, their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world” (Psalm 19:1-4.5).
The entire world is currently walking in a very deep “valley,” and I believe that God is using this present darkness and apparent hopelessness to cause people to look up.
When the valley in which we walk is so deep and so dark, the forest of the world’s uncertainty surrounding us so full of terror, and the way back to the light is lost: there is only one way to focus our eyes and our hope: upwards toward the One Who indeed has the future in His hands. The “Valley of Vision.” What a great idea from God!
“I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?
My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth”
(Psalm 121:1-2).
The certainty of the fulfillment of all future prophecy is confirmed by the proof of prophecies that have already been clearly and precisely fulfilled.
A realistic examination of current world events in terms of wars, rumors of wars, pestilence, famine, geological events, violent weather anomalies, and a myriad of other ongoing developments is now impossible to ignore or deny.
God’s Word, whether someone cares to acknowledge it or tries to ignore it, has made it clear that these things will reach a climax as God is forced to deal with the sin and rebellion, which is clearly increasing every day.
I believe we are seeing the well-advanced consequences of Jesus Christ withdrawing His sustaining power on this world and those who refuse to acknowledge Him by allowing the world to experience what would be the natural state of it if the folly of evolution and the Godless “big bang” were actually true. This would truly be the realization of the Second Law of Thermodynamics in action were it not for His restraining evil and its resulting effects.
“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word” (Hebrews 1:3). Emphasis added by me.
God’s ultimate plan will be to restore His creation to what He had intended before man chose rebellion and rejection.
“Because he loves Me, I will deliver him; because he knows My name, I will protect him. When he calls out to Me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him My salvation” (Psalm 91:14-16).
“Put no more trust in man, who has only the breath in his nostrils. Of what account is he? (Isaiah 2:22).
Real Hope and eternal life are available to you in Jesus Christ. I pray that you will repent and receive them.
The special message I promised you:
For anyone who may read this article and has not trusted in Jesus Christ and therefore has no hope or peace in your life.
You can have hope. You can have the peace that Jesus has promised to all who have made Him their Lord and Savior. The peace that passes understanding.
It requires that you come before God on His terms.
And, what are His terms according to His Word?
- Genuine repentance (turning to God instead of continuing to reject or ignore Him).
- Confession of sins (that you are a sinner and acknowledge that to God).
- That you understand that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).
- To acknowledge to God that you are unable to pay that debt.
- Belief that Jesus Christ paid your death sentence for you on the cross and rose from the grave three days later, conquering death, just as He promised.
- To believe that Jesus is the Way, the only Way, that God has established by which humans may be saved from the consequences of their sin and rebellion.
God has made it absolutely clear that there is no one who comes before Him,under His terms, that will be refused.
- No one: no race, no color, no country of origin, regardless of any previous belief system: no one.
- No matter what your past sins have been, God can and WILL forgive you because He says He will.
- Salvation is available to everyone without any exceptions.
If you put all your trust for salvation in Jesus, and Him only, you can follow that prayer up by simply saying, “Thank you, Father God, for hearing my prayer and saving me,” because we can trust Him to keep His Word. He always has. He always will.
“Truly, Truly, I say to you that he who hears My words and believes the One who sent Me has eternal life and will not be condemned. He has crossed from death to life” (John 5:24).
There are no answers and there is no hope in the world by governments, organizations, politics or politicians. There are only lies and deception. But you can have the Truth and the peace you seek.
The answers are in the Word of God—The Bible. If you ask God, with all your heart, He will hear you.
“And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).
Pro Salvator Vigilans
To contact me: canoeman96@gmail.com