The Valley Of Blessing

Post by Joel Osteen on June 19, 2015

 

We all go through difficult times in life and things that we don't understand. When we're in the valley, it's easy to get discouraged and think it will never get better. Too often, that's when we lose our passion.
But the Scripture also talks about the valley of blessing. That seems like a contradiction. We think, "I can't be in the valley and be blessed. In the valley, I'm discouraged. I'm dealing with this health issue. These people at work won't treat me right." We see the valley as being negative. "As soon as I get out of this situation, I'll have a better attitude." I've learned that God doesn't always remove the valley, but He will bless you in the valley.
David said, "God prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies." He didn't say, "God will remove all of my enemies, eliminate everything that's bothering me and then prepare the table." No, in the midst of the trouble; in the midst of the adversity, He prepares the table. He doesn't have to deliver you from it; He can deliver you in it.
One time in the Scripture, Isaac was in a great famine. Nobody's crops could grow. The land was dry and hard; there was no water. But he went out and planted his fields. In the same year, he received a one-hundred-fold return. God didn't have to deliver him from the famine; He blessed him in the midst of the famine. You may be in a valley right now fighting a battle in your health, in your finances, in a legal situation. God knows how to turn that battlefield into your blessing field. Don't complain about the valley; there's a blessing in that valley! It wasn't sent to harm you, it was sent to increase you. You need to get ready because it's not going to stay a valley of defeat. It's about to turn to a valley of victory. What you think is a valley of disappointment, loss or heartache, God is going to turn to a valley of new beginnings; a valley of greater fulfillment.
Perhaps you're in a valley of sickness. You could easily be discouraged and settle where you are. Take heart, it's only temporary. It's going to turn to a valley of health; a valley of greater strength. God has you in the palm of His hand. He promised the number of your days He will fulfill! Don't be discouraged by the valley. Like Isaac, it's about to turn to a valley of breakthroughs, a valley of abundance, a valley of victory. It's a valley of blessing!
"On the fourth day they gathered in the Valley of Blessing, which got its name that day because the people praised and thanked the LORD there…" (2 Chronicles 20:26, NLT)