Something Worse Than A Valley

By John Stallings


At 10:20 p.m ET on Thursday night, February 12th, Continental commuter flight 3407 crashed about 6 miles from Buffalo, New York killing 50.

The Continental Connection flight was en route from Newark, New Jersey to Buffalo/Niagara International Airport.

Preliminary information recovered from the flight’s voice & data recorders indicated the plane underwent severe pitching & rolling motions after the landing gear was lowered & the wing flaps were set for approach to the airport.

According to reports, there wasn’t enough time to even radio what the problem was before the plane dipped from the sky & evidently made a “belly-landing” into a house on a rural street, erupting into a fire-ball.

The plane’s de-icing equipment had kicked in & also several auto-pilot protocols the plane itself initiated, such as a maneuver to automatically pull the plane’s nose up.

“Rime icing,” a condition in which ice quickly builds up on the edge of the wings was also a problem. Debilitating & blinding ice can appear in a blink of an eye on the wings & windshield of an aircraft, causing not only spatial disorientation, but aerodynamic unworthiness.

One of the pilots on board was a 25 year old woman, Rebbecca Shaw who’d been with the airline for one year. Her voice was heard in radio contact with the tower as the icy airplane groped through blinding weather conditions trying to make an approach back to earth. Her mother, Lynn Morris said, “We don’t understand. We kind of keep expecting Becky to come around the corner & say it’s not real.”

What a tragedy. The snow we romanticize especially around the Christmas season can turn on us human beings in a nanosecond. Snow is welcome under a sled & glistening in the trees but it’s the enemy when accumulating on the wings of an aircraft.

A BIBLE STORY WHERE SNOW WAS A MAJOR INGREDIENT.

Every time I see snow or even think about it, I think of a man in the Old Testament called Benaiah. His story is told in fragments in First Chronicles in a list of David’s mighty men. The story basically says;

Benaiah son of Jehoiada, the son of a valiant man of Kabzeel, who had done many acts; he slew two lion-like men of Moab:

also he went down & slew a lion in a pit on a snowy day.

And he slew an Egyptian, a man of great stature, five cubits high & in the Egyptian’s hand was a spear like a weavers beam; and he went down to him with a staff, and plucked the spear out of the Egyptians hand and slew him with his own spear.-1 Chronicles 11:22-25

Benaiah’s conquests were so great that David appointed him as his personal body guard & he eventually worked his way up the ranks to become the commanding general of Israel’s’ army.

If, God forbid I ever had to fight a lion, I’d rather fight him a valley than a pit, wouldn’t you? If there’s anything worse than being in a valley it’s got to be a pit. At least there’s some room to maneuver in a valley. If there’s anything worse than being in a pit, it’s being in a pit on a cold snowy day. If there’s anything worse than being in a pit on a cold snowy day, it’s being in a pit on a cold snowy day with a lion. Is there anything worse than being in a pit on a cold snowy day with a lion? Yes there is!

Something worse than being in a pit on a cold snowy day with a lion is, to have a 7 & one-half foot man holding a spear with a 2 & one-half inch thick handle waiting for you if you get out.

Benaiah’s victory over the two Moabites represents victory over self because they were descendants of the incestuous relationships between Lot & his daughters after the destruction of Sodom.

Benaiah’s victory over the Egyptian, killed with his own weapon which he snatched from him, represents victory over the world. At that time Egypt was the greatest nation in the world & all that was Egypt-socially, politically & religiously was considered the best.

Benaiah’s victory over the lion, the king of beasts represents victory over Satan, the most dangerous of these three enemies. Benaiah was fearless in facing the lion in the worst of circumstances—in a pit, on a cold day, when it was snowing!

A PIT IS DIFFERENT FROM A VALLEY

A pit is hole in the ground. A pit is lower than a valley. Some would say a pit is when the bottom falls out of your dreams & all hope seems gone. Others would say a pit is “when you hit rock-bottom” while others would say a pit is a bad day, a bad time or a spell of emotional depression.

Often in the Bible a pit is used metaphorically, as when David said;-He brought me up out of a horrible pit & set my feet upon a rock….Psalm 40:2. A valley is an expected thing in the life of the Christian. God has arranged for His children to experience a series of mountains & valleys. God in His wisdom allows every Christian to put in some “valley time.”

David said, Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil…..Psalm 23:4

It’s in the valley that He restores our soul.
It’s in the valley that He makes Himself precious to us.
It’s in the valley that we learn what a comforter the Holy Spirit really is.
It’s in the valley that we learn the meaning of grace.
It’s in the valley that we learn what worship is all about.
It’s in the valley that we learn what God’s provision is all about.

A valley has scenery while a pit has none.
A valley has a slope. You can see out of a valley but all you can see in a pit are its sides—unless you look up. The mountains are hid by the walls of a pit.

A valley may have several exits & entrances but a pit has only one way in & one way out. The only way out of a pit is to go back from the direction you came in & retrace your steps & walk out just like you came in.

A PIT IS A LONELY PLACE

Have you ever been in “the pits?” Others can be around but you still feel all alone. It’s hard to sense the presence of anyone around you when you’re in a pit. Loneliness can drive a person to do some crazy things.

We’ll all feel loneliness from time to time. I’ve spent decades of my life traveling as an evangelist & missionary/evangelist. Most of the loneliness I’ve experienced in my life has been separation anxiety, when I’ve been away from my family & felt a sense of disconnection.

The following are real life cases I’ve known about but the names have been changed.

Joan’s nearly perfect world came crashing down when the indescribable happened. Her husband was diagnosed with cancer & in just seven months he was gone. He was Joan’s best friend & the love of her life. She now faces a pit of loneliness she has to work through. Most days it’s bearable & she at least can see the road ahead but sometimes on lonely nights all she does is cry & pray & wish & hope. She feels so very alone.

Mike graduated first in his class & was voted most likely to succeed. He’s got a client portfolio that’s the envy of all his friends, especially the business community. Mike loves to play golf s so that takes care of most of his spare time. Mike’s life is kind of shallow & his relationships are surface but he’s basically doing alright.

Once in a while he gets a glimpse down the road of what 45 might look like & he doesn’t like it. He knows his life is beginning to feel hollow but he handles it by keeping busy. Very soon Mike is going to have to address the emptiness in his life but not right now. You see, Mike is fighting loneliness but he hasn’t given it a name yet. He knows something’s missing & doesn’t linger long at the mirror in the morning. He’ll have to face the yawning vacuum in his life soon.

Richard has moved far away from his hometown to take a great paying job. He’s a quiet guy & doesn’t have a lot of confidence. He fights depression because he really doesn’t know how to reach out to people & it seems like nobody wants to know him anyway. Richard plods along but he’s really hoping his life will get better than this because he knows he’ll never last as alone as he’s feeling right now.

I don’t know that many things for sure but this I know; everybody has to deal with being alone, empty & lonely at some point in their lives-everybody. Can you relate to Joan, Mike or Richard?

Are you lonesome tonight?

We all have;


A HOLE IN OUR SOUL

God created us to be in relationship with Him & as you’ve no doubt heard many times, He’s placed a “God-shaped room” inside each of us & nothing can fill that empty space but God. The story of mankind revolves around the things individuals have tried to put in that hole in their soul seeking to fill it up. If you’ve got that vacuum in your soul you’ll know exactly what I mean.

As I’ve said, all of us will experience loneliness from time to time but if that feeling persists, we should check our spirit & see if it stems from not having a close enough relationship with God. He wants us to walk with Him because that’s the reason He created us in the first place. When we aren’t walking close to God it creates soul dissonance—space between us & God- a space that was never meant to be there.

In Philippians 4, Paul was in a pit, a real pit called a Roman prison. How does he deal with his pit? Paul tells us in verses 4-8;

Rejoice in the Lord always & again I say rejoice….v6…Be anxious for nothing but in every thing by prayer & supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known unto God…v7..And the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts & minds through Christ Jesus.

V8—Finally brethren whatsoever things are true…lovely…of a good report…if there be any virtue, If there be any praise, think on these things.

Paul is saying; If you want to get out of your pit praise your way out, pray your way out & think your way out. Filling your mind with good things lifts the spirit, builds your faith, fills the pit, kills the loin & resists the devil.

A PIT IS A LIMITING PLACE

When Paul was in prison he recognized there were severe limitations but he always operated within the margin of freedom he was given. When he & Silas had their hands & feet tied in stocks, the only freedom they had was to sing & praise so they operated within that small area of freedom. But that small liberty to use their tongues as instruments of praise was enough to hit the throne of God & see an earthquake shake them free from their shackles.

Look at the Benaiah’s limitations; the lion, the snow, & the Egyptian warrior. Only a mighty person of God can slay a lion in a pit on a cold snowy day & wipe out a 7 & a half foot giant with a two & a half inch thick spear like a weavers beam. But you & I are mighty warriors through His name even as Benaiah was.

Speaking of limitations, I’ve always been a “city boy” at heart. I love to go to a quiet place once in a while but for the most part I enjoy the hustle bustle of city life. Juda sometimes laughs at me & says, “You just have to have your “fix” of carbon-monoxide,” speaking of traffic-jams. Some of my worst memories are the feelings of being stranded in a small village with no Mall & few restaurants. There are so many limitations in smaller places. But even in places [pits] that I felt were “under the radar,” I’ve seen life changing things take place. Sometimes God has to get us into a small place so we’ll focus on Him & what He wants us to accomplish.


BENAIAH MEANS—GOD HAS BUILT

In the Bible names have meanings. Benaiah is the perfect picture of a born again Christians that’s why we can find so much practical & helpful advice in this story to apply to our lives.

I’ve reminded myself many times that because I belong to God I won’t die in a pit. I’d also like to assure you of that fact. How can we die when we’re already dead? We’re dead in Christ. If you & I are in a pit, if we just keep looking up, we’ll get out because of who we are in Him.


TAKING THE INITIATIVE

There are people who are “waiting on God” for the right time & right conditions to get something accomplished. I realize timing is important but I believe some of us are too vague & passive in our spiritual lives. Many people have all it takes to win the victory but they are weak in the area of execution. They can’t get started.

As I read this story about Benaiah, I can’t see why in the world he got involved with that lion. Maybe you can see something there I can’t see but I can’t seem to get a clue as to why the man happened to be in a pit with a lion on a cold snowy day. In one way he’d seem to be the most unlucky man in the world at that particular moment in time. Of all the pits in the world & I’m sure there were many, how in the world did he have the misfortune of getting into a pit with a lion in it [on a cold snowy day?]

I’m sure Benaiah didn’t want to be there unless he’d struck his head on something hard earlier in the day. But there the man was & so he did all he could do, he fought & killed the lion.

Maybe he saw the lion in the pit & knew the lion was hungry & getting angrier & angrier & he knew the lion would get out sooner or later & kill an innocent person, so he did what he felt was right & took care of the job right then & there.

ALWAYS BE “UP-BEAT” EVEN WHEN YOU’RE BEING “BEAT-UP!”

In closing, let’s recap this story & look at another possibility or two.

It’s very possible that Benaiah had been chasing this lion & the lion took refuge in a pit. Or shall I say—tried to take refuge? A lot of good it did him. After all, our hero was a “lion-chaser,” a warrior of great courage. It makes little sense to me to think Benaiah accidentally fell in the pit with the lion & I think the Bible would have told us had Benaiah taken refuge in a pit as opposed to the lion taking refuge in a pit.

The Bible makes it clear that Benaiah didn’t just fight with a lion; he fought & killed the lion.

WATCH OUT FOR THE MENTAL-LIONS

All of us have mental lions prowling around in our thought life trying to keep us from God’s very best for our lives. We all hear the roar of lions these days that make our spines tingle. It’s how we react that determines our destiny. If you & I have faith in God suddenly our fears don’t seem so great.

You may remember my story from back in the 1970’s. I wanted to make a new album & record some of my new songs that I wanted the world to hear. The problem was, I had no record company that wanted to put the record out, & at the time I didn’t have the $4,500 it took to do it myself.

A friend of mine volunteered to loan me the money but fear gripped me, fear that the album would be a flop & I’d spend the rest of my life trying to pay back my friend. In two days it took me to make up my mind, I had every fear you can imagine to torment me about that album.

After all, I was going to record ten brand new songs & all of them might be duds, for all I knew. The lions of fear & trepidation were in my face all day & night. Finally I made the decision that, come what may, I was going to take that borrowed money, take a leap of faith & go to Green ville, South Carolina & “cast my bread on the water.”

For almost 35 years I’ve been glad I conquered fear & took that step of faith. Let me give you a list of a few of the songs that were on that album; “learning to lean”—a song that would win a Dove Award within two years. “Love grew where the blood fell,” a song that has been a standard for decades & I have no idea how many have recorded. “Touching Jesus,” Jimmy Swaggart would take that one to #2 nationally & dozens if not hundreds world-wide have also recorded it. “You’re all invited to my mansion,” Michael Combs took that song to #10 nationally & it’s decidedly stood the test of time.

Every song on that album we made back in 1975 has been recorded over & over again by artists all over the world, a group of songs that almost didn’t get recorded because of the lions that were raging in my face trying to get me to get off my “ego-trip,” stay home & eat my oatmeal.

May I ask you…How big is your God? I think He’s bigger than all the lions in the world combined, whether we’re talking about mental lions or actual lions.

Don’t let mental lions keep you from realizing everything God has for you. Our greatest defining moments double as our scariest moments & our greatest breakthroughs come as we push through our fears. Before we can become winners out there first we must think like winners.

Wouldn’t you rather follow Christ & walk on the water & slay some lions along the way, than allow fear to cause you to play it safe in life & end up with boredom?

Remember you serve a miracle working Christ & the only thing standing between you & your destiny may be one small decision to act in faith.

I love Galatians 6:9;

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.


Every blessing,

John