I love sharing with the community words that inspire me. When I’m in a dark valley, when my heart is full but I still don’t know what to pray, sometimes I borrow words from the saints of long ago. Saying them over and over knits my heart to theirs, and points me in the direction they chose. These words come from
The Valley of Vision, A Collection of Puritan Prayers & Devotions.
THE VALLEY OF VISION
Lord, High and Holy, Meek and lowly,
thou hast brought me to the valley of vision,
where I live in the depths but see thee in the heights;
hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold thy glory.
Let me learn by paradox
that the way down is the way up,
that to be low is to be high,
that the broken heart is the healed heart,
that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,
that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,
that to have nothing is to possess all,
that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,
that to give is to receive,
that the valley is the place of vision.
Lord, in the daytime stars can be seen from deepest wells,
and the deeper the wells the brighter thy stars shine;
let me find thy light in my darkness,
thy life in my death,
thy joy in my sorrow,
thy grace in my sin,
thy riches in my poverty
thy glory in my valley.
Amen.
I’d love to hear your thoughts about the valleys, or the vision you find in them, or whatever’s on your heart.
Dear Janet, Thank you for this post as we begin another week in the Lord. We live in such heavy-hearted times,every day bringing a new threat, a new sorrow to the world around us,that at times,it’s hard to look up to the hills and see “thy glory in my valley”.
I have used this devotional for several years now, and this prayer,The Valley of Vision is my favorite.
As we face another day, week, let us remember we don’t do it alone.
“I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord,
who made heaven and earth.” Psalm 121:1,2
absolutely perfect
Hi Janet,
Your title really got my attention this morning. In the book, I have a section titled “The Dark Valley”. It is in the chapter titled Joy. It was included in the chapters that you reviewed. Thanks again for your time and valuable input. You are welcome to share how God comforted me in my life when I was in the dark valley. Dan had been unemployed for about 13 1/2 months at that time. Yes I was counting! It is my hope in sharing that section someone will be encouraged and know they are not alone. May the know how wonderful and loving our God is and He will never leave them nor forsake them. Joshua 1:5
May you be blessed beyond your fondest dreams,
Rebecca
Janet,
I have never read nor heard that poem but I have tried so hard to encourage people of the same fact…that to suffer can be the most precious place because Christ is there. I will be using this more and more because it is so much more eloquent. There is a fellowship that only those who have walked through the Valley and seen God can understand…Precious Heartbreak…and I am thankful for all the times I have been there. James 1
We had to put our Austrailian Shepherd of 13 years to sleep last month. We have no children and this dog became like a child to us. For us, the grieving process has been pretty hard. My husband said it ranked 3rd in grieving intensity only behind losing his ex wife and son. However I will say that, in the midst of my sorrow, there is profound gratitude. My heart goes right through the grief straight to Gods heart. It was God who made Rip, God who led us to this particular dog, God who gave us the ability to care for him, God who softened our hearts to be compassionate toward that puppy, God who helped us be responsible masters, God who opened our eyes to the lessons he wanted to teach us through this dog, God who enabled the 2 of us to work like a team to care for him, God who cracked open our hearts to that vulnerable place so we would allow this dog full access , and now God is lavishing his comfort and kindness on us as we are sad. Surely God is with us in all things. Through tears of sadness I have pure joy simultaneously and am rejoicing over Rips little life and the generosity of our God in giving us the years with him and now when we need his comfort, he is lavishing it on us in abundance. I see now from this deep well of sorrow, the light of my Heavenly Father is ever present, warm and very bright.
So beautiful Richie. We’ve also experienced death in our family recently, and the comfort God has lavished on us has been abundant. God is near and we are clinging to him.