I have been a fan of the “Valley of Vision” for a while now – I love to read it in the morning…usually right before I go to prayer and reading the Word.
I’m going thru a season now…a bit of a painful season. God is really digging up some painful things – that he wants to bring to the top of the pot and scoop away – but my bold (crazy?) prayer is that God not let the darkness/pain lift until I can soak in all the knowledge I can – to come thru this looking, smelling, acting more like His Son, Jesus.
28And we know that for those who love God all things work together(A) for good,[a] for(B) those who are called according to his purpose. 29For those whom he(C) foreknew he also(D) predestined(E) to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be(F) the firstborn among many brothers.
BEWARE! – you can’t look at v28 without v29! That is the “good” – it’s not just the good for US – the “good” is our sanctification – I pray that I come out of this looking more like my Saviour! So many folks stop at v28 and call it a day…
I also LOVE Sovereign Grace Music – they have written an entire album based on the Valley of Vision book.
One of my favorite tracks is “Valley of Vision” – the first cut on the album. The point is that in the valley – in the lows of life – there is VISION – vision to see the Lord, his lessons – when we are broken and empty of ourselves – then he can use us – and he promises that he is near to the broken-hearted! (Ps 34:18)
Enjoy.
[Here is the original poem below from the book…]
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.
(In case you need to click directly to the YouTube video)
Mike Ruel 