Why the Valleys in Life?

” But thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume.  Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing.  To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this?” 2 Corinthians 2:14-16

After Reading this passage I thought to myself: What do I smell like…Victory or Death?

*If we don’t allow God to cleanse US FIRST, we’ll end up “contaminating” everyone we come into contact with.
* But if we allow Him to transform us, we’ll be a:
“…fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing…”
2 Corinthians 2:15
*We are a sweet aroma to Christ – reflected in HOW we live our lives. Sometimes reflected by mere presence, not just our words.

Why need to be Refined in the Furnace

“For You, O God, tested us; You refined us like silver”.
And then, later on, God says,
“See, I have refined you, though not as silver, I have tested you in the furnace of affliction”. Psalm 66:10 & Isaiah 48:10

One thing the Bible teaches very clearly is that God tests His people and the comparison that’s used many times in Scripture is that God tests us the same way as a silver refiner refines silver.

In Bible times the way that a man did that was to place the silver in a metal container over the hottest possible fire and then, as the silver began to melt and bubble in the heat, the dross, the scum, the impurities would rise to the surface and he would skim them off as they rose up and he would go on skimming until there was no impurity left in the silver.
And the test of that was that as he looked into the surface of the silver he could see his own face properly mirrored in the silver.

***So that’s how God tests us in the furnace of affliction. The hotter the furnace, the more the impurities are brought to the surface.
And God graciously skims them off with His great heavenly skimmer.

***God goes on with that skimmer until He sees His Own Image reflected in our lives.
* And then God knows the process of refining is successful and He takes us out of the furnace.

“The man of God came up and told the king of Israel, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Because the Arameans think the Lord is a god of the hills and not a god of the valleys, I will deliver this vast army into your hands, and you will know that I am the Lord’.” 1 Kings 20:28

Whenever we stand on the mountain, we are able to see clearly. It is the best vantage point to see what lies ahead. Wouldn’t it be great to live on the mountain all the time in order to anticipate what is ahead?
God allows us to experience the mountaintop at times.
Joseph’s first mountaintop experience was as a young man. He had the favor of his father, Jacob. He was given a fine coat and even had a dream about his future. As a young man, Joseph had a sense of destiny about his life.
* God often gives us a picture of our future so that we will remember this picture when we are being tested to trust Him in the valley.
* This picture usually does not reveal how God intends to bring about the visions for our life.
*However, none of us really derive the character qualities God desires for our lives while we are on the mountain.
***It is in the valley where the fruit is planted and harvested. It cannot grow on the mountain; it must grow in the valley.
God is a God of the mountain, but he is even more a God of the valley. In the valley, it is more difficult to see ahead; the clouds often cover the valley and limit our sight.
* Joseph was thrust into a deep valley that left him wondering if the God of his father had forsaken him.
* Jesus hoped that He might be able to avoid the valley that caused Him to sweat blood.
* There is a valley that each of us must enter, usually unwillingly, in order to experience the God of the valley-and to experience His faithfulness in the valley.
Once we have spent time in this valley, we come out with something we would have never gained if we had not entered it.
**The valley brings much fruit into our lives so that we might plant seeds into the lives of others!!!
*** God does not waste valley experiences. If we are faithful in the valley, we will enter a new dimension with God that we never thought possible.
There is a harvest of wisdom and virtue that can only be grown in the valley.

Has God brought you into the valley? Know that the valley is a place of fruitfulness; it is a place of testing. It is where God brings what you know in your head into your heart.
The only value of knowledge is when it becomes part of your heart. Look for God in the valley today.

You are My offspring, says the Lord.  You belong to Me.  The past days, months, or even years of struggle are becoming a thing of the past as the Lord prepares you for this time of new things.  Refuse to allow the fears, disappointments and failures of the past to dictate your current course.  Allow the Lord to bring forth a transformation.  He will heal the brokenness of the past and give you new hope for the future.

Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.

Life is very short here on this Earth.
Psalms 90:10 Seventy years are given to us! Some even live to eighty. But even the best years are filled with pain and trouble; soon they disappear, and we fly away.
*I need to be more grateful for all that God has blessed me with and not look at how my life could be better. Life is but a vapor. I need to focus more on how I can best glorify our Father in this short life. I have eternal glory with Jesus to look forward to.
Verse 12: “Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.”

Please God hold me close to you and guide me in the correct direction with Christ. Let me be a pleasing aroma to you that guides the people around you towards life. Thank you for the hardships I have overcome because of You to learn from and to share.
Help me Lord to stay true to Your word, and present it in my life to make sure that the people around me are not lead to death but rather to life. Help me do this by staying in the word daily, applying it to my life and looking for improvements through Your perfect refining process.  I Thank You for the purpose and Life You created me for. Help me see Your Purpose for me daily! Lord I want You to be my signature scent. I want to dedicate more of my time with You so that Your scent lingers only to attract more people to you for Your glory.
Amen.