I decided to share this little poem which I found in the devotional “Springs
in the Valley” because back in the days, when I was losing everything that I possessed,
Jeremiah 29:11 was one of my favorite verses.
“'For I
know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and
not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.”
My understanding of the verse was so far from
God’s intention. I could not even imagine that the calamity that my life had become was God’s
plan for my welfare, to give me a future and a hope.
I also like the fact that, even though the writer has long passed away
and was born in the 1800 era, God’s way has never changed. More than a century
down the road, her life experience was about dark days, surrender and abiding
life. Because this has been my path for so many years now, the poem is
encouraging for the reason that, sometimes it is not easy to follow after God. Through
my journey with Him, I learned that those verses of the Bible are not there to
make my life easier and more comfortable. As I let Him do His work in me, He is
able to get rid of my corrupted view and understanding.
At the end of the day, even though it is a hard life that God has put me
on, I will cherish it and rejoice in the pain the sufferings and all the lost
that I have incurred. Through the hardships and His teaching, I learned the
difference between mature Christians vis a vis God and mature Christians vis a
vis man. Spiritual maturity is acquired through learning to persevere when the
shadows in the deep valleys never end. It is acquired when you truly learn from
Him how to live this life with Him alone as your hope and there is nothing else
left to hang on to, except the hope of this life in Him. It is also acquired,
when we learn to abide there, at His feet, in a life of surrender and oneness.
As He infuses your soul with His character, you cannot help but rejoice in the
suffering because your soul can see the beauty that is being produced in you. A
mature Christian is one that is established, strengthened and settled and it is
forged mainly from the valleys of this journey.
