Hope in the Desolate Valley

Recently, we went camping at Lake Somerville state park - 9000 acres, just a short drive from Houston. We had a beautiful spot on the lake with access to the nature trails.

As we walked along the lake’s beach and hiked in the woods, we began to notice tree after tree, dead, bare trunks pointing skyward. We learned that Lake Somerville flooded in 2015, 2016 and 2017. The park service reports that thousands of mature trees have died. 

In the place of dense trees and undergrowth, the floods have left a desolate valley. 

Are there places in your life that seem desolate?

There have been times in my life when I’ve felt the surge of flood waters rising and then receding, only to rise again. 

But God doesn’t leave us fighting the current. 

Eventually the waters do recede.

And what remains can feel lonely and bleak. Places where things are bare and raw. Where we wonder if all that’s left is just wasted wood pointing toward heaven. In these places we search for God, clinging to our knowledge that He sees us in this dry, brittle state. 

We must wait.

Waiting is especially hard for us. It requires perseverance. It requires digging deep and trusting that God is just as in control of the waiting as He was in the flood. Like bare tree trunks, we hold fast - to HOPE.

Maybe you need to hear this good news today: when we trust that our heavenly Father is truly in charge, we can stand firm in the waiting. Just as He brought us through the flood, He will be with us through the drying out. He will bring us back to life again.

So whether the waters seem to be rising around you or if you’re in a worn-out waiting wasteland - hang on! God is there, steering your course and bringing you through to the other side where there is life again. 

His mercies are new every single morning!

Hold steadfastly to hope.

___________________

But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord,
    

I wait for God my Savior;
    

my God will hear me. ~ Micah 7:7 NIV

Today is a GOOD day!

Natalie