November 12 – What you can look forward to

From there I will give back her vineyards to her, and turn the “Valley of Trouble” into an “Opportunity for Hope.”  There she will sing as she did when she was young, when she came up from the land of Egypt.  (Hosea 2:15 NET)

The “her” that God is speaking of is about His people who He will restore back to Himself.  They will find joy again like they did when they were first set free as slaves.  

Maybe you are going through what feels like a valley of trouble, a time of testing, attack or persecution.  Today God wants you to know that your valley of trouble will be turned into an opportunity for hope.  This valley is temporary, and the sooner you begin to trust Him without allowing fear and panic to contaminate your faith, the sooner you will see that valley turn into hope, and all the darkness you are going through now will be forgotten.  

There are people who have gone through terrible trauma and felt they could never be normal or recover from their past.  But God is in the business of transformation.  Many of them now live very happy, fulfilled lives because they had the audacity to believe that God would wipe their slate clean completely.  I work with many of them daily, and laugh with them as they tell their stories of past addictions and curses as if they were speaking about different people and not themselves – and in fact, that’s exactly the way it is.  When God transforms you and you become born of His Spirit, the qualities of that old person with the urges and fears and emotional baggage, fade away.  Of course as you mature in the Spirit, even more of you changes and improves day by day.  

This is what you have to look forward to!  You don’t have to go through therapy the rest of your life, you don’t have to carry that guilt either.  You don’t even have to feel like that old person any more, because being born of God is becoming a new creature.  You keep the same great qualities of humor, personal taste, and intelligence, and they become even better and more enjoyable with God.  But all the junk is thrown away.  

Your valley of trouble may be because you are not yet born of God, so you need to seek it with a passion and make any sacrifice necessary to find it.  Maybe you’re already born of God, and your valley is just a testing period where God is waiting for your reaction of faith and trust while your emotions are being attacked.  Either way, you have an opportunity of hope that will arise from that same valley, as long as you rest in that knowledge and obey His Word. 

Begin to live in a spirit of thankfulness and expectation of your opportunity of hope that is on its way.  Begin singing praises to God even now, before seeing answers to your prayers.  It may feel awkward and even a little crazy, but don’t worry.  Real faith is always a little crazy to this world anyway