Many years ago, I did some climbing in the Rockies. I was the guest speaker at a wilderness camp that was part of a teen camp from Nebraska. We drove to the Abraham Lincoln Memorial Monument near Laramie, Wyoming and met up with the teens and leadership that would be part of the week-long camp. After driving what seemed to be forever, over a one-way, cliff hanging dirt road we finally settled in an area at the bottom of a canyon that had a creek next to our camping spot. Although Linda and I had a popup camper at the time, our campsite had no civilized amenities, such as, heat, lights, bathrooms, or showers. The teens slept in tents, while the adults slept in campers. Even though it was the first week of July, the temperatures dropped into the 30’s at night.
One of my favorite experiences of the wilderness camp, besides preaching and teaching Scripture, was my opportunity to do some climbing in the Rockies. One day we climbed Cameran Pass. It was 11,500 feet in elevation, and we hiked over twelve miles in the process. Anyone who really knows me also knows I’m not a big fan of hiking. But I do love the mountain top view. And the view was fantastic that day. As I drank in the panoramic view of the landscape with its snowcapped peaks, inhaled the lean, crisp, air, with my feet firmly planted in a large patch of snow, I realized just how blessed by God I was, at that moment. Yes, I was hungry, sweaty, sucking air as if it was my last breath, but what a view. Would I do it again? NO! But what a view, it was my mountain top experience.
MOUNTAIN TOP EXPERIENCES: Sometimes, as Christians, we too have described our journey with Christ as having mountain top experiences. Perhaps it was the first time you shared your faith with an unbeliever. Or the time you saw someone close to you come to the saving knowledge of Christ. Or that time your oldest child asked for spiritual help. Spiritually speaking, you were sailing high above the cloud in your experience.
But the question must be asked; Do all our great spiritual experiences come from “highs?” What about our valley experiences, the humbling, low points of our life? What is God teaching you in these valleys? Does God even use the valley experiences to grow us in Christ?
VISION OF THE PURITANS: For the past three years I have been slowly reading a prayer/devotional book called “Valley of Vision.” It is a pocket size book, a little over 400 pages, written by some of the biggest names during the Puritan Movement. If you know your Puritan history, you will remember that it was a spiritual phenomenon of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, yet, its influence has reached countless generations, even to this day.
Although I am not Reformed in my theology, I have for many years read the works of the reformers who brought the Scriptures to light in an age where life in Jesus Christ was darkened by papal law, rituals, and religious hierarchy. We have all heard of Luther and Calvin. But there were many more who would not only be outspoken concerning the authority of the Scriptures but would have to pay the ultimate price for their protestant proclamations. Such reformers would include Zwingli, Latimer, Bucer, and Tyndale.
Yet, this little book includes names of those who would come, not only during the Reformation Period, but later too. Some of the names included in the authorship are, Thomas Shepard, Thomas Watson, Richard Baxter, John Bunyan, Issac Watts, William Williams, Philip Doddridge, and the great prince of preachers Charles Spurgeon, to name a few.
MY REASON FOR WRITING: The reason I bring this small, but powerful book to your attention is so you will understand that not all our spiritual experiences happen on mountain tops but deep in the valley, a place of daily struggle. So, what I would like to do for the next umpteen weeks is to introduce you to this book and its many topics.
The Christian life is not a cakewalk. On the contrary, most days it is a battlefield filled with landmines, just waiting for us to step on one. And if I have learned anything over the past four decades of my Christian experience, it is that God hates a superficial walk, but He loves it when we humbly dig into His word, desiring to have a deep spiritual connection with His Son. It is my prayer that some of my thoughts on the Puritan writings will give you a desire to grow in the valley, as we seek to flesh out Christ daily in our life together.
FIRST OF MANY APPLACATIONS: On the first page of this book, where you see the title, and the Scripture quote of Isaiah 22:1, which says, “The oracle concerning the valley of vision. What is the matter with you now, that you have all gone up to the housetop.” The context tells us that Israel was being judged by God for their waywardness. In this particular chapter it appears that Israel was celebrating that the Assyrians were in retreat. Yet, they didn’t realize that the Babylonian army would come after the Assyrians and put in place “Operation Mop-up.” The Babylonians would destroy Jerusalem and put God’s people in captivity. Although the meaning of the phrase “valley of vision” seems to be uncertain. I believe the answer lies within the context of this chapter. Isaiah is rebuking the people for their celebration over the Assyrian retreat (rooftops) when they should have humbled themselves before the LORD, repent of their sin, realizing how desperate and needy they really were. The fact is, Israel was proud of their Holy City, proud of their religious history, and proud of living a superficial life as God’s children. Isaiah was telling the people, that they were blinded by the sin of pride and the only way back to true worship of God would be for them to see how spiritually low, desperate, and needy they were. James 4:10 says, “Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you.” It seems to me, that rooftop experiences will not cut it with God. Perhaps it is more appropriate to think as the Puritans did. That the way down is the way up, that to be low is to be high, that the broken heart is the healed heart. Prayerfully join me as we seek to see the Lord through the Valley of Vision in my next article, “God The All.”
This is Pastor Pat, From Behind The Pen, wishing you Joy in Jesus!