This morning I read this Scripture:
I will return her vineyards to her and transform the Valley of Trouble into a gateway of hope.Hosea 2:15 NLT
To catch you up to this verse….
God tells Hosea, a prophet, to go and marry a prostitute, Gomer. They marry & not only is she unfaithful to him but she remains a prostitute bearing children as a result of that prostitution. God used what happened in Hosea’s life to reveal the way God feels over the sins of His people & their wandering.
I read the above verse & realized that in God’s economy “the valley of trouble” can equal “a gateway of hope” in the life of believers. Whatever difficulties are in life can be a gateway – an entrance or a passage – into hope, into something better in our lives.
- health struggles
- financial hardship
- death
- relational strains
- betrayal
- loss of job
- issues with aging parents
- wayward children
- addictions
- faith struggles
Any valley of trouble can become a gateway of hope when the Lord comes on the scene.
But why the trouble at all?
I will be faithful to you & make you mine and you will finally know me as the Lord.
Hosea 2:20 NLT
Why the valley of trouble at all?
God wants us to know Him.
How amazing is that! God Almighty, the Creator of all things, desires us to know Him. He wants us to know His character, His ways, His great love for us.
He will take us through a valley of trouble so that we can know that He is the God of all hope. He takes us through. He does not leave us in that valley of trouble forever. The valley does have an end. We come out on the other side. And when we emerge, we KNOW Him – a little more, a little better, in some new way.
He wants us to realize that He leads us through the Valley of Trouble into the Gateway of Hope.
