CONQUERING LIFE=S VALLEYS – Pt 4

Psalm 143:1-12 “Hear my prayer, O LORD, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness. And enter not into judgment with thy servant: for in thy sight shall no man living be justified. For the enemy hath persecuted my soul; he hath smitten my life down to the ground; he hath made me to dwell in darkness, as those that have been long dead Therefore is my spirit overwhelmed within me; my heart within me is desolate. I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands. I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah. Hear me speedily, O LORD: my spirit faileth hide not thy face from me, lest I be like unto them that go down into the pit. Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust, cause me to know the way wherein I should walk for I lift up my soul unto thee. Deliver me, O LORD, from mine enemies I flee unto thee to hide me. Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness. Quicken me, O LORD, for thy name's sake: for thy righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble. And of thy mercy cut off mine enemies and destroy all them that afflict my soul: for I am thy servant.”

As we come to the last blog from Psalm 143 I trust this has been a blessing to many. It’s amazing how few comments I receive from my writings, but I hear from some who have been blessed. For that I’m very thankful. I realize my time here at the computer is not all wasted.

We have walked with David in the dark valley of his life. We have notice that THE VALLEY MAY BE FILLED WITH PAIN. You can tell my his words that he is grieved over the action of his son. He is depressed, discouraged and even in despair. But we have noticed also that THE VALLEY WILL BE FILLED WITH PEARLS. I had a note this week from a lady talking about the pearls in her life.

This week we are going to notice that THE VALLEY WILL HAVE A PATH to victory. David will show us what he did to overcome that discouragement, depression and despair. How do you get out of the valley? Let’s notice what David has to say.

1. We have victory THROUGH PRAYER – notice verse 1 "Hear my prayer, O LORD, give ear to my supplications: in thy faithfulness answer me, and in thy righteousness." Notice verse 6 "I stretch forth my hands unto thee: my soul thirsteth after thee, as a thirsty land. Selah." In this dry, parched and dark time in his life, David cried out to God.


Notice verse 8, 11-12, "Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; . . . Deliver me, O LORD, from mine enemies . . . Quicken me, O LORD, for thy name's sake: for thy righteousness' sake bring my soul out of trouble. And of thy mercy cut off mine enemies and destroy all them that afflict my soul: for I am thy servant."

Think about David’s circumstances. He was in a holding pattern. He was waiting and there was nothing he could do to alleviate his pain and hurt. So he cries out to God. The Bible doesn’t tell us how long he prayed. It might have been a long, long time. If it was, I’m sure he wanted to quit praying, but he didn’t.

Have you ever been there? If you’re like me you probably have. Waiting on God is not easy, but we’re commanded to continue to pray. We read in I Thessalonians 5;17 APray without ceasing.@ Notice also what is written in Romans 12:12 "Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;"


Notice the words “continuing instant.” These two words mean to be “earnest toward” and to “persevere diligently and continually” in prayer as you wait on the Lord for the answer.

Remember, God has promised to answer our prayers. We read in Isaiah 65:24 "And it shall come to pass, that before they call I will answer and while they are yet speaking I will hear." It may not appear that the answer is already on the way, but God has promised. We read also in John 16:23, ". . . Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you." Notice also Jeremiah 33:3 "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things which thou knowest not."

It is our duty to pray. We must pray when God says “yes”; pray when God says “no” and even pray when God says “wait.” We should keep on praying. God is still on the throne. It is our duty to pray but it’s more than just a duty; it’s the path out of the valleys in our life.

2. We have victory THROUGH PRAISE (worship) – Notice verse 10 "Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; . . ."

This is a sad Psalm. You can see the sadness of the circumstance he is in, but David still praises. God is good.

When you and I are in a valley, we need to remember this. In fact, we need to adopt this attitude of praise and worship.

When I think of a dark valley in a person’s life, I think of Job. He was in a terrible valley. Job lost his business, personnel, children, health and the support of his wife. You can’t think of much else that could happen to a person. But notice what we read in Job 1:20-22 "Then Job arose and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped. And said Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave and the LORD hath taken away blessed be the name of the LORD. In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly." He praised and worshipped the Lord. What a spiritual giant!

Someone has said “If we can't praise in valley; we have no right to praise on the mountaintop – God is sovereign in both places.”

When I’m going through a rough time; when the valley seems the darkest, what can I praise Him for? Notice Luke 10:20, "Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven." The valleys can’t take away your salvation. That’s something to praise the Lord about.

I’ll not expound on them but let me give you a couple of thoughts about praise:

He Is Worthy (Rev 4:11)
It Will Help You (Neh 8:10; Prov 17:22)


3. We have victory THROUGH PRACTICE - Notice verses 8-10 "Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust, cause me to know the way wherein I should walk for I lift up my soul unto thee. Deliver me, O LORD, from mine enemies I flee unto thee to hide me. Teach me to do thy will; for thou art my God: thy spirit is good; lead me into the land of uprightness."

David had gone through some hard times. He may have struggled a little bit in his faith and trust, but down deep David had always wanted to do the will of God. That had been his desire.

That should be our goal also. Even when we go through dark valley experiences, know that God is in control and what we are facing had to cross His desk for approval. Every experience is designed to make us stronger people. One of my facebook friends, Tomas Edward Bowen wrote “It is not God’s will for us to live weakly and die feebly, so, He allows afflictions to come and strengthen and mature us.”

David shows us the path out of a dark valley: Prayer, Praise, and Practice. There is no situation in our life but that God will lead us through and out. Dr. Warren Wiersbe says “. . . we have the Word of God before us and the Spirit of God within us; and God will direct us if we wait patiently before Him.”

When we fail to walk in God’s path: (1) It’s DISHONORING to Him; (2) It’s DISCOURAGING to our heart. You can’t beat the circumstances! Don’t let it beat you!

That’s my view; how about you?