Valley of Weeping

          In Luke 19:11-27, Jesus and his followers were nearing Jerusalem and his followers thought this was surely the time He would set up His kingdom. Jesus told them this story to correct this assumption.

“There was a certain nobleman who was called away to a distant empire to be crowned king then he would return. So before he left he gave ten of his servants a mina each, (about four months wages) saying, “Do business till I return.”

His people hated him and sent a delegation to try and keep him from being king. However, he was crowned king anyway and after a time he returned. He called for his servants to find out what the profits were from the money he had given them.

The first servant reported, “Master, I invested your money and made ten times the original amount!”

“Well done!” the king exclaimed. “You are a good servant. You have been faithful with the little I entrusted to you, so you will be governor of ten cities as your reward.”

The next servant reported, “Master, I invested your money and made five times the original amount.”

“Well done!” the king said, “You will be governor over five cities.”

But the third servant brought back only the original amount of money and said, “Master, I wrapped your money in a handkerchief and hid it in a closet to keep it safe. I was afraid because you are a hard man to deal with, taking what isn’t yours and harvesting crops you didn’t plant.”

Kinda like me, this third servant spoke his mind. “You take what is not yours to take! You expect your servants to do all the hard work of planting and caring for the garden and yet you harvest all the proceeds for yourself!” This was spoken to the very master who had given him the money in the first place. What audacity!

No wonder the king roared, “Why you wicked servant! Your own words certainly condemn you! If you knew that I am such a hard man who takes what isn’t mine and harvests crops I didn’t plant, then why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank? At least I could have gotten some interest on it. But instead you did nothing!”

Then turning to the others standing nearby, the king ordered, “Take the money from this servant and give it to the one who has ten pounds.”

“But, master,” they said, “he already has ten pounds, this one only has a little.”

“Yes, the king replied, “and to those who use well what they are given, even more will be given. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away. As for these enemies of mine who didn’t want me to be their king, bring them in and execute them right here in front of me.”

The obvious lesson here is that Jesus was going away and would return as King of all and would then set up His Kingdom on earth. Meanwhile He wants us to “do business” for Him, using the talents, gifts and abilities that He has given us to multiply His Kingdom. Multiplied minas would be souls harvested for Heaven.

The questions He might ask his servants are: What did you do with your lives? How did you use what the King gave you, talents, abilities passions, possessions, money for His glory? Did you trust Him even when life seemed unfair or did you run and hide from Him, like the third servant? Did you trust Him with your lives, your loved ones, your possessions? Or were you afraid that a harsh God would take what is not His and harvest crops He did not plant?

The third servant hid his mina to keep it safe. Not safe from robbers or dishonest investors, but from the master himself. Are we hiding our lives from God because we think He is a harsh master?

Maybe He has allowed something in your life to happen that is tough. Maybe you think God is completely unfair and hard to deal with. Maybe you’ve seen what He’s done in other people’s lives and you are afraid to give Him control of yours.

You might think He took what was not His to take. Maybe a loved one taken in the prime of life, or a child taken before they had the chance to even live. Maybe the collapse of a business that you put your heart, soul and money into along with your sweat. Maybe your dream was smashed into non-existence. You think surely God doesn’t care about me or about what I do. You don’t want God’s hands on your life for fear of what He might extract.

So you wrap your life in a clean-looking handkerchief and you hide it away in some dark closet for fear God will take what is not His and will reap what He did not sow.

When I read this before I thought it was dealing with service, with what we did for God with our lives, not mattering if it is a lot or a little just so we do something. But now I see it’s talking about much more. Not just about service but about trust, about allowing Him to work in our lives, living for Him, following Him blindly even when the way seems all wrong, even when the path is going the opposite direction from everyone else, even when it seems He is harsh master, taking what is not His and reaping what He did not work to sow.

Its about when your life is dark and you walk through the valley of the shadow of death; a place where death reigns, where darkness suffocates, where despair overwhelms; when you walk in that dark shadow and you’re bowed down with heavy sorrow, yet you keep leaning on the Savior. Because He is always with you.

It’s about turning to Jesus for your strength and keeping your eyes on His face and thanking Him at all times through all things.

It’s about standing up with iron in your backbone and a smile on your face, maybe with tears running down your cheeks, and with praise on your lips. Even when your life is all wrong.

It’s about trusting Him in the valley, through the black shadows and with the pain.          It’s about coming out of the dark closet and reaching for His light, letting His joy, love and peace surround you.

It’s about trust, my friends, not hiding, or running or turning your back on your God. Even if we don’t understand His way. Even if it seems He is a harsh task master. Even if His way seems so unfair. Even when we walk through the Valley of Weeping and we don’t understand why. When it is the hardest to trust that’s when we need to trust the most.

It’s about trusting that He will always walk with us through the valleys, He will sustain us in the hard times, He will heal our pain. We can trust Him with our lives, with our hearts and with our souls.

We may not understand how God is working, but we just keep doing His business. We don’t see the whole picture, yet we know how the story ends. We know in the end He will abolish His enemies and He will win. For His is King! He has victory over the world. He reigns!

“What joy for those whose strength comes from the Lord, who have set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

When they walk through the Valley of Weeping it will become a place of refreshing springs. The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings. They will continue to grow stronger and each of them will appear before God in Zion.

For the Lord God is our sun and our shield. He gives us grace and glory.

The Lord will with hold no good thing from those who do what is right.

O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, what joy for those who trust in You!” Psalm 84:5-7, 11,12

Did you catch that? “The Valley of Weeping will become a place of refreshing springs.” The dark valley a place of refreshment and renewal?

“The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings.” Blessings and growth found in the valley of terrible trouble?

“They will continue to grow stronger” Not weaker, not beat down, not hiding or running, but more courageous, more plucky, more resilient.

Who? Only “those whose strength comes from the Lord”, those who lean on Him, those who turn to Him when they find themselves in the Valley of Weeping.