It doesn’t  make sense to see Job losing everything. Not until in the midst of his grief he was able to experience God as he never had before (Job 42:5).

Nor does it make sense for some young to be thrown into a fiery furnace because of their faith. Not until the king that order the process saw one like the Son of God walking among them in the fire, and all of them  and then saw the young emerge unharmed from the fire (Daniel 3:14-28).

It makes no sense to see the Son of God dying on the cross. Not until three days later he rose from the death, bringing hope of eternal life to mankind (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

Nor does it make sense the number of people that has died because of their faith. It could look like their lives ended without a purpose.

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth… And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. – Hebrews 11:13-16

It makes no sense when we lose a loved one, or when we get sick, or when financial troubles come, or when we are in conflict.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord – Isaiah 55:8

Our ability to understand the situation does not change the reality of what God is doing in those who love Him. What looks like an uncertain future in our eyes, for God is sealed a victory - a done deal.

These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. – John 16:33

No matter how confused I am, I can keep going receiving the peace that I get as a result of having my eyes on Jesus, recognizing that no matter what happens He already conquered victory, and therefore I shall conquer in Him. Now things do not make sense, but at some point I’ll look back and there will be no words of concern but only words of thanks to my God.

Worrying solves nothing, but it usually makes things worse. For example, if we worry about giving a good life to our family this may lead us to be anxious about our work, leading us to spend more time at work than we should, and resulting in children who grow up without the presence of their parents, with the side effects that it entails.

We know that worrying is not good, but it seems inevitable. So what’s the solution? The solution is to learn to live each day at a time making sure to always make time to sit at the feet of Jesus.

Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me. And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” – Luke 10:38-42

Though this might seem like an unrelated example, the reality is that often we live as Marta; worries keep us from enjoying the most important thing: a relationship with our God.

God designed us and knows how we feel, and better yet, He knows how to make us live fully.

“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on … “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. – Matthew 6:25-33

If we sit longer at the feet of Jesus, we would need less time at the feet of psychiatrists and psychologists.  If we sit longer at Jesus’ feet we would be less dependent on medications to control our anxiety.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. – Matthew 6:34

Each day brings its own situations. Worrying about tomorrow only complicates today. Knowing this, I invite you to exchange the time you spend worrying with time at the feet of Jesus: He knows how to make you get the best part, and once you get it no worries will take it away from you.

It’s good to be an informed buyer. The idea is to have all the details needed to choose the best alternative. Going through this process becomes more important for large investments.

If it’s important to make decisions about the things we buy, how much more important is to decide about our eternal destiny?

Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. – Colossians 3:2-3

There are only two alternatives available for eternity: eternal damnation or eternal life. Unfortunately, doing nothing means choosing eternal damnation, as

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God – Romans 3:23

For the wages of sin is death – Romans 6:23a

Damnation is also the option that we choose when we put our mind on things of the earth.

But when we decide to put our minds on things above (God) then we choose the best option: eternal life.

but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. – Romans 6:23b

Sin keeps us in a state of death, but when we receive Christ and let Him take control then the life that was previously hidden is manifested.

Make the most important decision of your life:  follow Christ and receive eternal life.

How do we care for new things?

You do not care for a new car in the same way you do for an old car, but you take care of it with zeal. You don’t leave it open, you avoid pot holes in the road, you keep it shine and clean, and so on. How much more shall we care for our spiritual life.

 work out your own salvation with fear and trembling – Philippians 2:12

A continuous process

Taking care of any investment is a continuous process. In order to keep a new car in good condition frequent maintenance is required.

Salvation is received when we accept Jesus, but in order to stay on the path to salvation we need a continuous relationship with our Lord.

being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ – Philippians 1:6

We can be confident that even with all the difficult situations we live, God will continue to work in us until we reach our heavenly home.

The goal

The purpose of a car is to transport us from one place to another. The purpose of the new life we receive in Christ is to transport us from a limited and imperfect life to eternity.

Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God”. – John 3:5

Take care of your greatest investment: your new life in Christ.

Something similar happens to our lives. God wanted to reconcile humanity to himself, so He began the required process. God decided to select all of humanity, and give his Son as the required payment. Since no one meets the specifications we all must go through a process until our lives achieve the design defined by God.

To ensure that a product meets its specifications it must be submitted to various tests. In the case of a car it has to go through tests like the following:

• Speed
• Safety
• Endurance
• Performance
• Handling

Similarly, it is also necessary that we go through testing.

• Safety
  • situations are needed to teach us control (brake tests)
  • we need to go through losses (crash tests) to learn that our protection is in God
  • we must be seen as people in which others can trust (safety belt)
  • we shall be support (airbags) to those in need
• Endurance
  • only those who endure (distance) to the end shall be saved
  • we shall keep our faith when things go wrong (hot temperatures), and when we don’t feel God’s presence (cold temperatures)
  • difficult environments (off-road tests) are required so we can comfort people that go through similar tests
• Handling
  • We have to learn to walk the narrow path (driving in curves) – the only one that leads to eternal life
  • we need to make other feel loved (comfort tests)
  • we have to be the light to help others walk on the right path (visibility)

Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. – Hebrews 12:11

Joseph is an example of the testing process. Before the process Joseph was despised by his brothers. During the process he was sold into slavery, slandered and unjustly imprisoned. But the outcome of the process was Joseph as second in command in Egypt, used by God to save many. Joseph is the example of when tests cause insignificant things to become important.

Another example is Jesus. Before the process he was the Son of God. During the process he was despised, mocked, and died on the cross. But the outcome is the Son of God resurrected, glorified, and offering eternal life to mankind. Jesus is the example of when tests turn something good into something much better.

The process is not easy, but in God’s hands our victory is assured.

the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ  – 1 Peter 1:7

He has put a new song in my mouth — Praise to our God; Many will see it and fear, and will trust in the LORD. - Psalm 40:3

But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. – Isaiah 40:31

His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness – Lamentations 3:23

Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh - Ezekiel 11:19

For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered or come to mind - Isaiah 65:17

When something is no longer useful it should be replaced with something new. A car can be repaired, but it will eventually need to be replaced with a new one. We were dead and worthy of condemnation. We needed something new.

And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins … But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved) - Ephesians 2:1-5

To make a new building the old one needs to be demolished. In our case, we must be born again through a relationship with Jesus.

Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” – John 3:3

The new birth enables us to change our foundation from temporary and material to spiritual and eternal.

The situations in our lives destroy us little by little, but God in His mercy does not want us to stay that way; He wants to do something new.

And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make. – Jeremiah 18:4

Do not settle for the old, receive and enjoy a new life in Christ.

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. - 2 Corinthians 5:17

Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash. – Matthew 7:24-27

Building a house on sand is foolish. Whoever builds a house on sand knows that sooner or later its foundation will cede, and the result will be chaos. No one who is mentally sane will try that. However, we can clearly see that our society is constantly building on sand.

We work hard. We have more money. We have more and better things; what we need and even what we don’t need. But we have no time to enjoy family or possessions. Too many sacrifices and no time to enjoy life. This is building on sand.

We put our hope on the elected officials. But even if they have good intentions, the truth is that placing our trust in them is like building on sand. We have trusted the economy, but we realize that it is like an air balloon which is deflating, and though it is re-inflated it has so many leaks that there is no way to stop the process. Once again, this is like building on sand. We rely on religious leaders, but we have seen how many of those who are supposed to set an example fail to give a positive witness. We keep building on sand.

We have been blessed by God, but we have placed our hope in the blessings when we shall have placed our hope in the God who has blessed us. This is still building on sand.

Is there no hope? There is, but not in the worldly things. Everything in this world is temporary and should have never been our foundation for hope.

The global situation that we are experiencing should serve as a warning for us to put our hope in God alone and not in what He has given us or what we have achieved. Only after we are able to understand this truth, and begin living according to it, we will be building on the rock.

Let’s not be foolish, let’s hear the word of God and live according to it. Only then we will be building our future on a solid foundation; on the eternal rock: Jesus.

Violent deaths. Violence against women, children and the elderly. Governments oppressing their people. Sexual immorality. Child sexual exploitation. The rich getting richer and the poor poorer. Unemployment out of control. Economic problems worldwide. Even nature is affected by our actions.

There seems to be no solution. And if there is some relief it appears to be temporary. Any solutions are like illusions.

If we get carried away by what we see we can lose our hope.  We can’t even put our hopes in good times, because these are short-lived.

But those who have known Jesus know that our hope is not set on what we see or hear but what Jesus did for us and His promises to us.

Jesus said:

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. – John 14:6

This truth helps us to give hope to a world where there is none.  Maybe we can’t change the world, but if we follow the example of Jesus, we can positively affect those around us.

Let’s do our best, not just sharing words of hope with others, but living like Jesus:  doing good, blessing, helping, forgiving, sharing with the needy, having pity on those suffering, opening doors and not closing them.

The times we live are difficult but,

• Do not forget that there is only one way: Jesus
• Do not forget that there is only one truth: Jesus
• Do not forget that only Jesus can give us live.

Do not forget.  Jesus is hope come true.

In the movie “The Two Towers” there is a scene where the hobbits are going through a valley full of dead people. At one point it seemed that this would be the end of their journey. But this place was not their destiny, but only a point in their journey to their purpose. Although it seems that they were alone, the reality is that many other characters in other places were fighting in support of the same mission, so they were never alone.

In our last teaching we talked about the valleys of the shadow of death, and how important it is to go through them at different times during our lives. But just like the hobbits in ”Lord of the Rings,” though it may seem otherwise, the reality is that we are never alone. There were beings with special powers that fought for them. We have angels that watch over us:

Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation? Hebrews 1:14

If that is not enough let me tell you that Jesus promised to always be with us.

And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. – Matthew 28:20

Perhaps the valley of death you are going through make you think you are at the end of your journey. Or perhaps you think your burden is very difficult to carry, or you’re not qualified, and do not have the strength to keep going. But if you put your life in Jesus’ hands, keep going knowing that you will never be alone, and He will guide you towards your true destiny: abundant and eternal life.

Psalms 23 verse 4 says:

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

When we put our faith in God there is no reason to fear when we are going through our valleys of shadow death. The first reason is that He is with us. The second reason is that though our physical eyes see only death in the valley, we must open our spiritual eyes to see that when we walk with our Lord what seems to be death is only “shadows” because there is no death for those who are with the giver of life.

Another aspect we need to remember about the valleys of the shadow of death is that they are needed. Yes, the valleys of the shadow of death are needed to strengthen our faith. We all like to live in the hills: the high place where everything is blessing and joy. But because of our sinful nature, after being for a while on the hills, we forget that the only reason we are there is because of Jesus. We think that we are there because of our own ability and because we deserve it. When we get to this point we cannot appreciate the hills and need to descend to the valley again.

Upon returning to the valley we realize that our efforts produce no life, but only death. That is when by God’s mercy we remember the blessings we received when we were on the hills, we lift our eyes to the hills (Psalm 121:1), and ask God for help. By recognizing our situation and that only God can help us, the presence of Jesus becomes latent, and death turns into mere shadows, helping us climb our way back to the hills.

If you’re going through a valley of death I invite you to lift your eyes to God, ask for His help. He will turn your death into shadows, and take you by the hand to his place of blessing.