The poison of praying your way out of a valley

The Faith of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego in the Furnace

My favorite passages in the Bible is Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, because they stand right up, they look at Nebuchadnezzar, they say, our God will save us, our God can save us, but even if he doesn't.

And it's like, well, if he knew he was going to get saved and he knew he could save him, why'd they add in that, but even if he doesn't? And they're making such a great point there that it doesn't matter what happens to us.

God’s Providence in Suffering and the Meaning of the Valley

Because our God holds us in the palm of his hand, meaning any valley, any mountain, his grace is sufficient, his grace is enough. And I think that takes a real paradigm shift in most Christians thinking, because we equate, especially in Western Christianity, we equate money and cars and material things and a good job and a nice family and health is blessing.

And we count disease and virus and struggles at work as, oh, that's the devil trying to, and it's like, well, no, the Lord works all things out for good for those who love him according to his will. I mean, it doesn't say he works good things out, it doesn't say he works bad things out, it says he works all things out, and that includes bad things.

And I got to tell you, you read the book of Job, and there was a lot of bad stuff that happened to him there. And a lot of people forget that it was actually God who suggested Job. He said, what are you doing, Satan?

He said, I'm just roaming to and fro. He said, have you thought about my boy Job? He said, oh, I can't touch him, you got to hedge protection around him. He said, I'll remove it. You're not allowed to have his life, but do what you must.

So God not only suggested, but also said, go ahead and do what you think you need to do against him. So valleys in our life, I think, once again, short-sighted when we get into a valley and then we say, Lord, take us out of this valley, oh, it's hardship, get us out of this, right?

Sanctification Through Hardship and the Example of Paul

When in fact, he says, I have you there, that's the purification process, that's the sanctification process. Look at Paul, right? I have a, whether it was a physical ailment or not, scholars can argue about that for years to come, but he said, it keeps me humble, had a very specific purpose.

I don't ever want to try to pray myself out of a sanctification process. God's got to be up there just wringing his neck going, I put you in this for a reason. I've just come to realize that whenever there's an issue in my life, whenever there's a hardship, whenever there's a valley, the very first thing I do is say, Lord, what are you trying to teach me?

What do I need to learn? What kind of pride do I need to swallow and put down? What kind of humbleness needs to raise up in my life? How do I need to treat people better? What is it that you're trying to teach me?

And not go to, hey, God, can you do this for me?