Effie Darlene Barba

^{Isaiah 51:3} For the Lord shall comfort Zion: he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden of the Lord; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.

⁴ Hearken unto me, my people; and give ear unto me, O my nation: for a law shall proceed from me, and I will make my judgment to rest for a light of the people.

⁵ My righteousness is near; my salvation is gone forth, and mine arms shall judge the people; the isles shall wait upon me, and on mine arm shall they trust…

¹¹ Therefore the redeemed of the Lord shall return, and come with singing unto Zion; and everlasting joy shall be upon their head: they shall obtain gladness and joy; and sorrow and mourning shall flee away.

¹² I, even I, am he that comforteth you: who art thou, that thou shouldest be afraid of a man that shall die, and of the son of man which shall be made as grass;

¹³ And forgettest the Lord thy maker, that hath stretched forth the heavens, and laid the foundations of the earth;

Sometimes along this journey of life we seem to fall into a desert or dark valley.  I would like to tell you that as a Christian this can never happen; but, then I would be lying.  I have passed through some very dark valleys in my life that felt so barren at times that I cried out to God with such a longing.  I did not know how to put one foot in front of the other or how to survive.  I felt burdened even further by the guilt that perhaps all of the long desert time was punishment for sins and therefore I needed to continue marching forward like a dutiful little Christian carrying my cross.  Little did I realize then that the deserts and valleys of my life were gifts of love from God.  He needed me to see His hand guiding my every step.  His purpose was to bring me to a place of full Joy in Him.  That Joy could not be found until I let go of the guilt, the pride, and the counterfeit joys that I sought after with all my heart.   Do Valleys and Deserts still arise before me in this journey, certainly; but there is a difference now in how I view them.  If I see them as a stepping stone to bring me closer to God and I realize that He is there with me to show me the way and to help me to become more like Him; then joy remains (not a giddy fake laughter; but a true joy that cannot be destroyed by the tears)  This is a peace and hope in God’s grace, including His future Grace.  This is a joy built out of faith in the one who will sustain me and holds me in the palm of His hand.  This is in the understanding of His perfect, unconditional love for me that makes "all things work together for my good."  This was a poem I wrote for my book Mountaintop Experiences in the Valley and I hope it brings you hope if it is a desert or valley you are facing today.

GIVE ME THIS VALLEY

I cried, Lord, please help me climb

This mountain so sublime

Full of health and wealth and fame

Surely there I’d praise your name

But I heard a whispering voice

Said, “for you that’s not my choice”

I want you in this valley deep

Where your joy my heart will keep

Lord, you can take that mountain high

And let me stay here by your side

In this valley filled with pain

Where I know you know my name

Give me a life where I might live

Dependent on the Grace you give

I’d rather be here by your side

Than on that great mountainside

Give me the faith and hope that’s yours

As your spirit through me pours

To a world in need of you

Give me strength for them to view

Let me show the Glory of Your Hope

Far from that slippery slope

In the valley where you stand

Let me walk and hold your hand

Though the Valley may be dark

You’re the light, my precious spark

You are all I need to know

Let me walk now here below

Give me the love of your great smile

That casts aside my selfish guile

Remove my thoughts of selfish pity

Your heart I might see clearly

You are the only one I need

For my soul you have freed

By the valley that you walked

To the cross where you were mocked

So let me walk this valley too

Where there your heart I knew

Keep your mountains filled with pride

Let me stay here at your side.

I hope also this song is a comfort to you, so beautifully sung by Larnelle Harris

John 8:  ¹² Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life….⁵⁹ Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

After the lengthy discussion with the Pharisees that began with Jesus declaring that He was the light of the world.  He had explained salvation but in their darkened minds and heart they could not understand and they wanted to stone Him. 

John 9 And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.

² And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?

³ Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

⁴ I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.

⁵ As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

He has been telling His disciples that He was the light of the world.  He needed them to understand that He was the light that shined down into their own hearts that first of all made them aware of the darkness that was their.  The light of perfect righteousness that first of all made them aware of their covetous, degenerate dark hearts so that He who would die to pay the penalty of their sins could be their Savior.  He was the light that would guide them every step of their way through their Christian journey.  He was the light that would guide them, transform them, and fill them so they could be the light to the world (His own light shining through them.)

John 11 Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.

² (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.)

³ Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.

⁴ When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.

⁵ Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.

⁶ When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was.

⁷ Then after that saith he to his disciples, Let us go into Judaea again.

⁸ His disciples say unto him, Master, the Jews of late sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again?

⁹ Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world.

¹⁰ But if a man walk in the night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him.

¹¹ These things said he: and after that he saith unto them, Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep.

¹² Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep, he shall do well.

¹³ Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.

¹⁴ Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead.

¹⁵ And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him.

¹⁶ Then said Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellowdisciples, Let us also go, that we may die with him.

When Lazarus had died and Christ was getting ready to go to demonstrate the very purpose of His coming, the resurrection.  He needed His followers to understand what was His Ultimate Purpose and since they were a slow bunch to grasp this (so much like every one of us)  He was about to demonstrate it to them on this earth that they might begin to grasp the significance of His own death on the cross and the concept of resurrection.  They became frightened because they were traveling back to the very spot where He had first declared that He was the light of the world, the very place where the Pharisees had wanted to stone Him.  Look at His answer when they questioned Him about going there…."if any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world"  He was going with them, He was the light and He was about to demonstrate to them His power.  Their response is much like ours, "Ok, let’s go and die with him.  They will stone him and we will all die"  No enthusiasm, no faith that He was with them, and no evidence of hope or joy.  Are you walking with the light of the world?  Then what have you to fear.  Let us all like Paul, (Philippians 2: ^{15 ..} be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;

¹⁶ Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.

1 Thessalonians 4: ¹⁵ For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.

¹⁶ For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

¹⁷ Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

As we begin this month in which we set aside a day to celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ; let us be reminded of the fact that He is coming again to call us home.   His desire is to share with us His love, His joy, and His Glory which is more than we could ever imagine.  Let us seek to see Him with the eyes of our heart.  When we see Him Glorious, upon His throne; then we must fall done and all the pride which so plaques our life is shattered by the magnificent light of His Righteousness.  Then, like Isaiah we too cry out "Woe is me! for I am undone because I am a man of unclean lips"  All those moments in which we complain that we have not received what we think we deserve, all those self-pity parties when we are angry because we did not receive the recognition we believed we should have, and all those moments in which we pridefully see ourselves as greater than we are become shattered into brokenness when we truly see Jesus seated upon His throne.  Yet, in that very moment when we realize the depth of our own unworthiness, He comes to hand us His robes of righteousness bought with His own blood.  Then He asks who can I send to tell the nations of my righteousness.  Can we do any other than to cry out like Isaiah, Here I am send me.

Isaiah 6:  In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.

² Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly.

³ And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.

⁴ And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.

⁵ Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.

⁶ Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:

⁷ And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.

⁸ Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

I, too, must remind myself everyday of who He is–the King of All the Earth so that I must crucify this selfish heart.  I must choose each day to lay aside this false pride which can so harm His testimony in me so that I might bring Him praise through word, song, and deed.  I urge you to take a moment, close your eyes and let this song sing forth in your hearts as a prayer of praise.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11v6qz_r8yg

Philemon 1: ¹⁰ I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my bonds:

¹¹ Which in time past was to thee unprofitable, but now profitable to thee and to me:

¹² Whom I have sent again: thou therefore receive him, that is, mine own bowels:

¹³ Whom I would have retained with me, that in thy stead he might have ministered unto me in the bonds of the gospel:

¹⁴ But without thy mind would I do nothing; that thy benefit should not be as it were of necessity, but willingly.

¹⁵ For perhaps he therefore departed for a season, that thou shouldest receive him for ever;

¹⁶ Not now as a servant, but above a servant, a brother beloved, specially to me, but how much more unto thee, both in the flesh, and in the Lord?

¹⁷ If thou count me therefore a partner, receive him as myself.

¹⁸ If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account;

¹⁹ I Paul have written it with mine own hand, I will repay it: albeit I do not say to thee how thou owest unto me even thine own self besides.

The letter to Philemon is but one chapter.  Philemon was apparently a wealthy leader in Colosse who had come to know Christ as His Savior under the teaching of Paul the Apostle.  Paul was enslaved in Rome.  Most say that Onesimus was a runaway slave that somehow ended up in being found by Paul, some say that he had stolen from Philemon; but whether he had runaway or was sent to Paul, we do know that while with Paul he found Christ as his Savior and Paul was sending him back to Philemon.  Whatever debt he had to his master, Paul chose to take that debt upon himself, much like Christ paid our debt to God on the cross.  Within this short letter, there is a reminder of two important facts.

1.  The great forgiveness which is afforded us as Christians.  Christ paid our penalty of sin on the cross so that now we are more than servants to God (though servants we should be).  We are also brothers and sisters of Christ having been adopted into God’s family (Romans 8:15). Though we were unprofitable to God we know become profitable by the living out of our salvation in Christ. 

2.  We as Christians need be forgiving of those who are our brothers and sisters in Christ.  Many times we want people to "pay the price for their sins-even if they find Christ and are forgiven by God"  We should follow Paul’s example and be willing to help them in every way that we can and demonstrate the love of Christ to our brethren.  We should rejoice in the salvation of each soul instead of pridefully saying or thinking, "I can’t believe that he or she is now saved.  What was God thinking when such a horrible person was offered the same salvation as I."  How quickly forget the darkness from which God has rescued us.  Let us always be mindful of the Grace that set us free from the chains of sin and that it had nothing to do with us. 

Let us remember the Fullness of His Grace that we may also display that grace to a world in need of a Savior.

2 Thessalonians 1: ¹¹ Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power:

¹² That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

For those of us who know Christ as our Savior we are given the power through grace (future grace) to fulfill all of the good works that we resolve to perform.  That is God is not only the power to save us (which is in itself more than I could ever deserve); but it is through His power and grace that I am empowered by faith in His promises to live out this Christian life that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be Glorified.  His Glory through grace and faith to transform this covetous, regenerate heart into one that displays His Glory.  For a deeper understanding of this I urge you to listen to the following sermon by John Piper– http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/sermons/living-by-faith-in-future-grace#/watch/full  In this sermon, John Piper certainly explains this much better than I ever could.  Let me present below the examples of how this works as taken from John Piper’s sermon.  We make resolutions (resolve to perform good works or denounce sin in our lives through our free will); but the power to perform that comes only through faith and through the powerful works of God fulfilling it through us and for us. 

Six Examples (from John Piper-please see permission note below)

• If you set your heart, to give sacrificially and generously, the power of God to fulfill this resolve will come to you as you trust his future grace in the promise: “My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). And the promise: “Whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully” (2 Corinthians 9:6). And the promise: “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8).
• If you set your heart to return good for evil, the power of God to fulfill this resolve will come to you as you trust his future grace in the promise: “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven” (Matthew 5:11–12).
• If you set your heart to renounce pornography, the power of God to fulfill this resolve will come to you as you trust his future grace in the promise: “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). “It is better that you tear out your eye than that your whole body be thrown into hell” (Matthew 5:29). Much better. Wonderfully better. All-satisfyingly better.
• If you set your heart to speak out for Christ when the opportunity comes, the power of God to fulfill this resolve will come to you as you trust his future grace in the promise: “Do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour” (Matthew 10:19).
• If you set your heart to risk your life by ministering to the needy in a dangerous place, the power of God to fulfill this resolve will come to you as you trust his future grace in the promise: “To live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Philippians 1:21). “Don’t fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. . . . Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered” (Matthew 10:28–30).
• If you set your heart to invite some for Thanksgiving who cannot repay you, the power of God to fulfill this resolve will come to you as you trust his future grace in the promise: “You will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just” (Luke 14:13–14).

May God increase our daily faith in his inexhaustible, blood-bought, Christ-exalting future grace.

©2012 Desiring God Foundation. Used by Permission.

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Please include the following statement on any distributed copy: By John Piper. ©2012 Desiring God Foundation. Website: desiringGod.org