I was listening to Joni Lamb’s interview with Ricardo Sanchez on DayStar yesterday.   You really must watch Joni’s Table Talk if you haven’t seen it before!  Anyway, Ricardo shared a sweet testimony about his son, but also made a comment about the Valley of Why.

Whoa!

That stopped me in my tracks!

Ricardo shared about the shape of the letter W and how easy it is in real life to fall off the plateau into that deep valley.

Isn’t that a visual?

I thought back over my life and wondered about a time I was in the Valley of Why.  I guess one traumatic experience was when we lived through a church split and left behind a LOT of our church family.   It was as close to a divorce as I have ever experienced.  And even today as I view what happened with hindsight, I don’t know how that train wreck could have stopped.  I can easily see where both sides made mistakes, but I had no idea the impact it would have — even now 7 years later.   I know families who are STILL stuck in the Valley of Why.  After what they watched that final night, they won’t have anything else to do with organized church.  They think Christians are a bunch of hypocrites.  Honestly, I don’t blame them after watching the showdown that night, but they can’t enter a bank, restaurant, or mall without walking with hypocrites either.   I know that is just their excuse so they can guard their hearts.  A church hurt is worse than most normal offenses.   But we must remember that WE ALL sin and must walk in grace with one another.

So why were some of us able to climb out of that Valley of Why and others unable to move?   Personally, I had to keep going.  I knew if I stopped I would never return.  Perhaps I had deeper roots that held me within the soil — though I wilted some and lost a few branches.    It really was by the grace of God that I recovered.  It was quite a shocking blow (though that sounds so dramatic).   It isn’t important HOW I came out of that valley as much as it is WHO helped me out.

Jesus will come to the rescue if you call on Him.

Yes, we have the choice of remaining there in that low place.  And I do believe there are lessons to learn while in the valley.  I have always said the soil is really rich in that place, but we can’t stay there forever.  We most move forward and in my case, to move forward I HAD to forgive.

Joni also interviewed precious Karen Wheaton with The Ramp the previous day and she definitely experienced a Valley of Why moment when her first husband was unfaithful, but God immediately spoke to her heart about her need to FORGIVE.

(Joni shared the following photo on Facebook:)

It was Karen’s walk with the Lord that allowed her to soar out of the Valley of Why and into the realm of forgiveness and freedom.   Karen said, “Forgiveness is never an option it is NECESSARY to begin the road to freedom. We have to forgive others to be forgiven.”

It was her trust in God’s Word and His faithfulness that brought her out of that valley.

Do you find yourself in the Valley of Why?

Are you ready to soar back to a place where you have a higher perspective and a firmer foundation?

I believe the only way out is to lean on the Lord.

Matthew 11:28
Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Thank you for visiting me today.  I pray you will find your way out of the valley the next time you slip off that plateau.   Jesus will be there waiting for you to call His Name.

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