No matter how dark or cold the valleys, God is there to hold our hand

I have often said that writing this column is like having my very own ministry.

Through it, I have been able to share my faith and bits of my life story, which seems to have encouraged others. While I am not a minister, I am a believer in Jesus Christ. I am an unashamed, born-again Christian who has been redeemed by the Lord.

Being able to share my faith through this column has been a blessing to me, and to many others. I often get emails from readers telling me so.

Still, being a Christian doesn’t make me perfect. I am still a work in progress. And while it pleases me that I inspire others through my writing, I feel compelled to let you know that whatever good accomplished through my writing this column comes from the Almighty God. I give Him all the glory.

I am not unique in that I have faith in God. Millions of others believe and trust in God’s saving grace. I am saying this because I want it understood that the joy and peace of mind that I have is for everyone.

God doesn‘t discriminate when He pours out His blessings. The Bible tells us that God rains on the just as well as the unjust. And while each of us is blessed by a loving God, personal joy and peace of mind come through having a personal relationship with Him.

A peace that comes from your faith

When we put our trust in the Lord, He gives us joy and peace of mind, even in the midst of the tumultuous times we are living in. It is the kind of peace that passes all understanding.

I often get emails praising my character. It pleases me to be an inspiration to others. Still, if I am not prayerful when these compliments come my way, the human side of me will be so flattered that I could get “the big head.”

But the spiritual side of me is well aware that I am who I am by the grace of God.

Like you, I am terribly human. I fight the spiritual battle every day to be forgiving to those who are unkind to me, and to love those who hate me. I have shed bitter tears over the loss of loved ones, or because of misunderstandings among family members. But you don’t see my tears.

Nor are you with me when terror tries to find me in the middle of the night and I struggle, fighting the fear that wants to overtake me with all the faith that I can muster. It is during such times that my own faith is tested.

And sometimes I am so worn out by my trials that I feel I have let the Lord down. That’s when the words of this gospel song comes to mind: “... His strength is perfect, when my strength is gone…He carries me when I can’t carry on…”

I believe it is the Lord’s way of letting me know He is with me, that He loves me. And no matter how dark my valley is, He is walking through the valley with me. It is comforting.

I have exhorted others many times to trust the Lord when they are having their own trials. I tell them to have faith in the Lord. But truth be told, there have been many times when my own faith has been tested. Times when I have prayed, seeking a favorable answer from God, and He answered “No” instead of “Yes.”

Faith tested with the death of her son

One such time was seven years ago, when I prayed in a hospital emergency room for the Lord to spare the life of Rick, my firstborn son. I thought for sure that my prayer would be answered, and God would restore my son’s health.

But God said “No.”

As painful as the answer was, I knew in my heart that God still loved me and He loved my son. It’s just that He had other plans.

It is during such times, that through prayer, I have had to ask the Lord to comfort me. And through my faith I actually feel the loving Father God enfolding me in His arms, cradling me, consoling me. It is at such times that I can hear the comforting words from the Bible that, “... all things work for the good of those who love the Lord and are called according to His purpose...”

So, while God sometimes answers my prayers with “No” when I am looking for a “Yes,” I have learned even when I am disappointed with His answer to say, “Your will be done, Lord.”

I have learned to say this even when I don ‘t see the light at the end of the tunnel. And though I might shed some tears, my faith has taught me that when I don’t understand His plan, God is still working things out for me.

Like many of you, I have had to call on my faith often during these days of civil unrest in our country, and while trying to stay healthy in the midst of a worldwide pandemic. Knowing that nearly 500,000 people have died from COVID-19 in the United States is mind-boggling. We seem to be bombarded on every side, with no relief in sight.

But as a friend emailed me recently, we must “fight fear with faith.”

The Lord doesn’t leave us without hope. The sun rises each day, spreading its bright rays out over the once dark horizon and shedding light on everything in its path. Each new day is a symbol of hope, reminding us that we made it through yet another night.

And that with this new day comes new mercies, promises of new hope. Still, with all that is going on around us, it might seem like we will never step out of the darkness into the light. But we must believe that we will.

I am a believer. I hope that you are, too.