Valley of the Peachy Keen

Isaiah 54:2 “Stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, spare not.” About 7 years ago I started an accountability group with Ron and Greg, two friends from church. We started to post some basic thoughts from our quiet time in a chat group. The frequency was relatively sporadic at first, but we got into a good rhythm of encouraging each other, and pretty soon all of us were posting every day. After many years I felt God calling me to open source those thoughts, forming the foundation of this daily devotional. Last night the three of us caught up for the first time in many months. God called Ron out of nowhere to move to Florida from Singapore and take over a business recently. It was so out of left field and would require so much hardship, but God gave some crazy supernatural signs that He was in this move. In talking about the priority of comfort in making life-decisions, Ron relayed (and I paraphrase) “I’ve been away from my family for five months now. My wife needs to pack up the house and move to the States on her own, all while looking after the kids without help from me. I need to plug into a totally new community, which has been impossible in the midst of covid. I’m overwhelmed with so much to do with the new business. But I can honestly say that God has spoken to me more clearly in the last month than in the whole of the rest of my life combined.” Scripture doesn’t say “even though I walk through the valley of the peachy keen, I will fear no evil.” It does say “even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. For you are with me.” Peace from above often comes despite difficult circumstances, not because of a lack of difficult circumstances. I believe there are seasons when God brings comfortable surroundings and there’s no shame in enjoying those moments. But I also believe that God uses tough situations to stretch us, to enlarge our territory, and to prepare us for something much bigger. I believe God’s been doing that for Ron and his family, and I can’t wait to see what’s next. Lord, thank you for always having the best in store for your children. Nothing can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Bless Ron and his family. Bless all of us who are dealing with difficult circumstances. Thank you for giving us peace in the midst of tough times. In Jesus’ name, Amen.