Suggested Scripture Reading: John 16: 17 – 33
Scripture Emphasis: Hosea 2:15
There I will give her back her vineyards,
and will make the Valley of Achor ( Achor means trouble), a door of Hope.
There she will respond as in the days of her youth,
as in the day she came up out of Egypt.
From the Creator’s hand, we arrive home, destined to spend a lifetime in this valley; we call the world. It is in this place that each one must discover what it means to be the living soul as imagined by our Creator. How, in this valley can we reflect the unique distinction of bearing the ‘IMAGE of God,’ no matter how extreme or hostile the environment may prove to be? From personal experience, each must seek to achieve God’s image of ‘a living soul’ as decreed by Him at creation. The Valley generates all of life’s experiences. We are born into it; we live out our years here, and from it, we eventually go, emerging as complete or atrophied. The poet, John Keats, exercising an economy of words, rightly describes this world as “A Vale Of Soul-Making.” ( 2)
Endless corridors of solid granite surround us always. Our souls must acquire the skill to determine what is real and what may be mere echoes. Is it the voice of the world we hear, or is it the voice of God calling to us? Here, the temptation is forever present, to take either the limited resources of the valley or to await the arrival of Heavenly resources as promised by God. Some here, readily accept the suggestion that everything, including ourselves, is of the same cold, hard, lifeless material that the valley itself is, But even though they renounce all responsibility of ‘soul-making’ in the valley, they can never cease being living souls, according to God’s decree.
The walls of this valley, this habitat for all humanity we call home, have words and symbols etched thereon, that testify to the experience of countless millions, that this valley is appropriately named a Valley Of Trouble (Achor).
Hosea, the author of our chosen scripture emphasis, was an 8th – century Bc prophet of Israel. He is one whose experience in the valley qualifies him well to call this place “The Valley of Trouble. His wife, Gomar, mother of his children, is unfaithful to him, and leaves him and becomes a common prostitute. Hosea is heartbroken by this turn of events and refuses to abandon her. His unconditional love for Hagar inspires his forgiveness and his total re-acceptance of her.
Not only did Hosea’s experience substantiate his naming this valley a place of trouble, but through his subsequent experiences, to discover a door of HOPE
in the granite walls of the valley. Hosea uses his heart-wrenching experience to symbolize the characteristic love of God for His children, Israel when they abandon their commitment to God and embrace the Canaanite religion.
It matters not how unprepared you might feel about dealing with your situation in this trying hour, or how terrifyingly dark the prospects ahead may seem; there is a door of Hope in this Valley of Trouble. Passing through this door of Hope, you come face to face with God as Hosea did, as David, the Psalmist did, ” Yea, though I walk through the Valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me, and as Jesus did, ” In this world, you will have trouble, but fear not for I have overcome the world, and I will be with you until the end”.
Prayer To Follow This Meditation
Eternal Father, Your compassion is immeasurable and calls from our hearts expressions of loving gratitude.
At those intervals, when the world steals the last jubilant strains of our positive response for life, You are there with a new key.
In the slow awakening of nature from winter’s icy grip, when the chilling wind rattles the dry and lifeless branches, mocking our Hope of spring’s return, You set a songbird on the topmost branch to make us hope again.
When ‘the midnight of the soul’ confers upon us the torment of sleeplessness, You direct us to see a moonbeam on the dancing wavelets of the sea, and we know once more that we are not alone.
When a virulent pandemic sweeps through The Valley, making us feel alone and helpless, You come through the door of Hope, and in Your company, there are the most courageous among us. They defy the threats to their personal safety, and in the presence of the One who died to serve, they inspire hope and confidence once more.
Receive our gratitude now, O God, that in the hour of our unprecedented experiences, we see anew the meaning of God’s “Living Souls. ‘For as much as you do it unto one of the least of these, you do it unto Me.” We pray in the Name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
HYMN: O God Our Help In Ages Past
FOOTNOTES
1. The Scripture references are of the NIV translation.
2. “The Vale Of Soul-Making” John Keats http://box5415.temp.domains/~sacreeh5/2012/04/15/the-vale-of-soul-making/
3. HOSEA, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hosea
PHOTO, Taken in Monument Valley, Utah, USA.