Faith In The Valley of Achor (Trouble)

God has made me fruitful in this land of my grief... my Valley of Achor becoming a door of hope. 
    

Last week I talked about the vows we make due to trauma....I shared with you one of mine and talked about vows ultimately being firm stands of self protection.

Here is my choice every day... Do I self protect or Invite God to come into my vulnerability by asking for His restoration and healing in that given area?  We are all given opportunity each day to practice this. 

Last week we talked about the self protection and vows that keep me stuck in fear, behind my walls, and trapped in un forgiveness towards God or others. 

Hosea 2:14-15 was and is a part of my process for learning to allow God into my shut off areas and self protected areas:

"Therefore, behold, I will allure her, bring her into the wilderness And speak kindly to her.  Then I will give her her vineyards from there, And the valley of Achor as a door of hope. And she will sing there as in the days of her youth, As in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.…"

"And the valley of Achor (trouble)  will become a door of hope" 

Let me remind you again that Jesus calls Himself the door in John 10 and that in Hebrews it tells us that " Hope is the anchor for our soul, firm and secure."

This week I'd like to discuss being in the valley of trouble and awaiting our door of hope. We established that life can sometimes end up just being a series of discomforts being resolved, discomfort being resolved, repeat.

I wanna live bigger than that! 

I don't want my life to boil down to "and she found a way to get all her problems solved and be comfortable ever after". So the thought I want to pursue with you today is:

How then  do I live while in the valley of trouble?

Can I clarify something first?  Being a Jesus follower and living for Him WILL NOT make my life trouble free! Just in the above verse alone the prophet Hosea is speaking of our valley of Achor

Why discuss what He will do for us while in the valley if there isn't supposed to be one?  And Jesus Himself tells us:

 "I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”                                                                                            John 16:33 (NLT) 33

 "Trouble free" was His original plan and still is his final destination plan for us. Let me make the distinction between the false hope of trouble free living vs. The Door of hope, the anchor for my soul. Yes this was the original plan when God made us. and set us in a garden and walked with Adam and Eve daily.  He wanted to hang out with us and He planned a trouble free but meaningful existence. But we had a choice and we chose to disobey and let evil in. 

Sin and death and tears and pain entered our world at that point. At this point is when we see family strife as Cain kills Abel, we then see jealousy, rape, HATE and every kind of sin that runs through humanity today. Trouble free living is also His eventual plan when this earth and this life runs it's final course. Look at the final book in the Bible. 

A New Heaven and a New Earth       Rev 21:3-5 …And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away." And He who sits on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new." And He said, "Write, for these words are faithful and true."…

It is so clear from His Word that He wanted and planned for a beautiful sweet pain free existence. He wanted something different for us but He gives us a choice.  I always have a choice! 

So now that we have established that this world holds trouble and sickness and pain and heartache, what are we going to do with that?
Decision time: He always gives me a choice! What do I choose while in my valley?  Am I going to get bitter, make vows of self protection or am I going to bring it to Him and choose him in my valley of Achor time?  This place is exactly where deep character is formed in me, the kind God can use in amazing ways for His glory and the redemption and freedom of others!

We are all here (in Bible study) to grow and become deeper in character and to be used by God, right? My favorite place to look at an example of someone in deep trouble who lived it out in faith is my favorite guy in the Old Testament, Joseph.  If you're thinking "what does Joseph have to do with me?"  Just wait! 

To read the entire account of Joseph (Genesis 37:1-50:26) 

Have you been rejected by family?  Lied about?  Betrayed? Completely disconnected? 

Gen 39:2 The Lord was with Joseph, so he succeeded in everything he did as he served in the home of his Egyptian master.  Potiphar noticed this and realized that the Lord was with Joseph, giving him success in everything he did.

When we abide during trouble, people who don't believe, see God.  They cannot help it!

Things heat up for Joe again as his master's wife gets the hots for him and puts the hit on him.

Gen 39:8 But Joseph refused. “Look,” he told her, “my master trusts me with everything in his entire household.  No one here has more authority than I do. He has held back nothing from me except you, because you are his wife. How could I do such a wicked thing? It would be a great sin against God.”

Joseph goes to prison as a direct result of His choice to serve God in the midst of his own personal valley of Achor. This is called persecution for righteousness sake. 

Genesis 39:20 So he took Joseph and threw him into the prison where the king’s prisoners were held, and there he remained. But the Lord was with Joseph in the prison and showed him his faithful love. And the Lord made Joseph a favorite with the prison warden. Before long, the warden put Joseph in charge of all the other prisoners and over everything that happened in the prison.  The warden had no more worries, because Joseph took care of everything. The Lord was with him and caused everything he did to succeed.

Have you ever been rejected for doing the right thing? For serving God?  A real slap in the face!

The Lord makes it a point to show me His love in the midst of the trial. Look at verse 21 in the above scripture again."

 But the Lord was with Joseph in the prison and showed him his faithful love. 

He was in prison for  years and don't think it was so cushy that Joe didn't want out! 

At one point in his stay the Pharaoh's cup bearer and baker both landed in that same prison and had dreams and were disturbed until Joseph interpreted their dreams for them accurately. 

But even when the cup bearer got out and went back to work Joseph's good deed was forgotten.  

Have you ever been forgotten or overlooked after being faithful? Joseph sticks it out another two more years in prison until the pharaoh of Egypt, most powerful ruler on the planet at that time, has a dream.  Long story short, the cup bearer remembers and Joe gets out to interpret for the Pharaoh.

Gen 41: 14  

Pharaoh sent for Joseph at once, and he was quickly brought from the prison. After he shaved and changed his clothes, he went in and stood before Pharaoh.  Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I had a dream last night, and no one here can tell me what it means. But I have heard that when you hear about a dream you can interpret it.”  

Here was Joe's chance for self evaluation and self protection but he put himself in God's hands again as he stood firmly in his position of faith. 

Gen 41:16 “It is beyond my power to do this,” Joseph replied. “But God can tell you what it means and set you at ease.”

After a valley of trouble it is tempting to take advantage of opportunity out of a sense of entitlement.  "After all I've been through, I DESERVE..."

Gen 41: 38 So Pharaoh asked his officials, “Can we find anyone else like this man so obviously filled with the spirit of God?”  Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God has revealed the meaning of the dreams to you, clearly no one else is as intelligent or wise as you are. You will be in charge of my court, and all my people will take orders from you. Only I, sitting on my throne, will have a rank higher than yours.”....I am Pharaoh, but no one will lift a hand or foot in the entire land of Egypt without your approval.”

After going through so much pain and hardship, Joseph still refused to get prideful in this elevated position. 

Gen 41:50-52  He was thirty years old when he began serving in the court of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt. And when Joseph left Pharaoh’s presence, he inspected the entire land of Egypt. During this time, before the first of the famine years, two sons were born to Joseph and his wife, Asenath, the daughter of Potiphera, the priest of On.  Joseph named his older son, *Manasseh, for he said, “God has made me forget all my troubles and everyone in my father’s family.” Joseph named his second son *Ephraim,for he said,“God has made me fruitful in this land of my grief.”

A "Manasseh Blessing" reminds me that God can so thoroughly bless me after a valley of trouble that I can forget the pain even if I don't forget the events surrounding that pain. 

An "Ephraim" blessing shows the very point I've been trying to make; I can be fruitful in the land of my grief... or while in the vaelly of Achor. God has turned my trouble into hope, as I lived for him and honored Him while enduring the trouble. 

Can I bless His name, stand firm and honor Him while I wait for that Door of Hope to open?

This is the rescue of Jesus and the GIFT He offers me today while I live for Him. Notice that even as horrible things were happening to Joseph; sold, betrayed, imprisoned and forgotten, God was with Him and showed Him His love. He does this for me in personal and powerful ways while I endure the present struggle. 

He will make my valley do-able with daily love and gifts in the midst of my pain. I must remember to cry out to Him and be constantly aware of His presence.  I must also remember to watch for His hand and thank Him for His constant care as He "gives us this day" and brings heaven to us "on earth as it is in heaven"

For those of you who were in Bible Study last week, I shared my story about my youngest son Gabriel  running away and the empty drawers he left behind...How God used a little golden retriever puppy to pad into the room at that very moment as I sobbed out my hurt while holding little puppy Chloe. 

He will make a way each day for me to endure if I turn to Him. The pain and the prison was a necessary part of Gods promotion plan for Joseph and the rescue of his family. 

There is always a greater purpose for our pain. If God allows it, He will use it in ways we cannot ask think or imagine. 

Joseph didn't know what was on the other side of his prison or betrayal. For all he knew he would rot in that prison!  The impossible unimaginable blessing occurred in his life. Along with the total fulfillment of the dreams Joseph had when he was 17 years old. He also saved His whole entire family and His people out of the horrible famine in the world at the time. 

Joseph refused to get bitter at God and he refused to hold onto unforgiveness of his brother-betrayers.  Can we believe God for the promotion while we are in the midst of the pain?

Faithfully waiting is actively praising God, praying for Him to come Into our circumstances and inviting Him to intervene. 

That is prayer...I get to choose! Do I want to ask Him for help? Will I humble myself and allow myself to feel awkward and imperfect and to invite Him to open the door of hope? 

Here is a very important part of our time together in this Bible Study. We are not just learning how to study the bible. We are learning how to talk to God even when it's awkward or inconvenient. 

PRAYER PARTNERS 

I taught these Bible Studies in my home for years and we just prayed a blanket prayer over all and took prayer requests....and it was good. God worked in our midst. 

But It was when the Holy Spirit gave me the idea for Prayer Partners that I really started to see God move in the individual lives of my sistas in astonishing and miraculous ways. I saw my sistas recover from addictions, reunite with spouses, watch prodigal children come home, see friends and coworkers find Christ, step out in courage and start businesses, get new careers and find wholeness where broken. I am watching the actual Isaiah 61 of Jesus play out in front of my eyes!!

Luke 4:18 …17And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written, "THE SPIRIT OF THE LORD IS UPON ME, BECAUSE HE ANOINTED ME TO PREACH THE GOSPEL TO THE POOR. HE HAS SENT ME TO PROCLAIM RELEASE TO THE CAPTIVES, AND RECOVERY OF SIGHT TO THE BLIND, TO SET FREE THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED, PROCLAIM THE FAVORABLE YEAR OF THE LORD."…

I'm thoroughly convinced that personal honest prayer changes my life and my day along with my relationships and my DNA. 

James 4:2 we have not, because we ask notJames 5:16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed.

Pray this prayer with me?  "Oh Lord we are a people so prone to comfort and self protection. Please help us to walk in a new trust for you right smack in the middle of trouble. Help us to believe your promise enough to wait on you in faith. Thank you that you hold me in the palm of your hand and that you have more in store for my life than just comfort, you have more than I can ask think or imagine! I believe you, help my unbelief I pray. Amen