Habakkuk 3: 17-19

“Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the alive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls:
Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.
The Lord God is my strength, and He will make my feet like hinds’ feet, and He will make me to walk upon mine high places...”
(Habakkuk 3: 17-19)

I ran across these verses today tucked away at the end of Habakkuk. Beneath them I had written, “He NEVER fails you!” and a date 2 years ago. I knew immediately by the smudged ink and worn page that my own tears had mixed with Habakkuk’s words. And the memory of where I had been 2 years before came flooding back.

My most precious times with God have often been when I have walked through the valley of the shadow. I do not know why. But I think it is because when life is going well I often move away from my Shepherd. Not that I don’t walk with Him, I just tend to let go of His hand and start leading or lagging behind. But when I’m suffering, that is when I cling to Him with all my strength. I wish this was not true, but until I get to Heaven, I will fight this battle of clinging to Him as tightly in the good times as I do in the bad.

Two years ago I had the biggest “valley of the shadow” experience I can remember. It was of such a long duration and accompanied by such intense pain, for a long time I couldn’t even imagine that I would ever come back into a “green pasture” -- I could only stumble ahead one step at a time and pray that my Abba Father would give me light for the next step.

I will never forget those months. Many things that I do daily without thinking required great effort to accomplish. I remember vividly sitting in the garden with my Bible and spending an hour reading one page because I had to put the Bible down and rest after reading each verse. I remember coming to the end of Habakkuk and reading verse 17 of chapter 3. I thought, “Yes, I completely understand what you were feeling, heavens, can I relate!” But I wasn’t prepared for verse 18. Even in that dark dark time, Habakkuk clung to the knowledge that His God would never fail him. He had hope when anyone else would have been hopeless.

And it was as if I could hear my Lord saying, “Jenny, I will never fail you. I know it is hard to believe or understand, but you will come out on the other side of this trial. Yes, you will have scars, but you will have a new perspective of Me and My purpose for you. Never forget the lessons you have learned. Give to others the hope that I have given you. And never ever doubt how much I love you.”

That was the turning point for me. Instead of focusing on all the “thorns’ I was experiencing, I began to see the blessings. Those months will always be very very precious to me. My walk with the Lord deepened in a way I could never have imagined. There are aspects of His character I will never doubt again. And when He led me out of the valley into a green pasture, I found I had more to give than I had when I entered the valley all those months before. He loves to fill broken vessels!

Oh, my friends, I don’t know what path you are walking down or what classroom God has you in. I don’t doubt that some of the Master Gardener’s pruning in your lives is very painful. Even now, sitting here thinking on where I was 2 years ago makes me cry. I have had to stop typing several times and go find the Kleenex box. They were not unhappy tears, just a reminder of the scars that suffering left. I think some things will always be painful to a certain degree – at least until He wipes away all tears from our eyes. But rest assured, our Savior loves you with an everlasting love. He will never fail you. His plans for you are truly perfect. I know this sounds a bit bald on a blog page, but I mean it with all my heart!!

My purpose in sharing all of the above with you is to encourage you to keep walking down the hard road the Master has you on. And if you are on an easy road, tuck this away for the time when you will need it.

And finally, to those of you who were my encouragers 2 years ago (you know who you are), thank you. You were used by God tremendously to help me survive that time of trial. I couldn’t have made it without you. I am truly blessed to have precious friends like you. And I will always need your faithful input in my life.

Have a wonderful weekend and Sabbath! And remember: He will NEVER fail you!!