by Shonda Savage
“There I will give her back her vineyards, and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope” (Hosea 2:15 NIV).
The phrase “Valley of Achor” means “the valley of troubling.” When we run from God long enough, he will trouble us in order for us to turn and seek him.
Interestingly, Valley of Achor was named because of Achan’s sin. Achan’s story unfolds in Joshua 7 where Joshua led the Israelites into victory in Jericho. The Israelites were to place all the silver and gold they plundered into the treasury of the Lord and completely destroy the city. However, Achan decided to keep a stash of silver for himself. Because of Achan’s sin in the camp, the Israelites were unsuccessful at their next attempt to conquer the next city. When Joshua inquired of the Lord about their defeat, he learned that someone in the camp broke the command. When Achan confessed, he was stoned to death for his sin. Then that place became known as the “The Valley of Trouble” or Valley of Achor. So this was a place of punishment.
In Hosea, the Lord also calls the troubling place “a door of hope.” A place where he restores our vineyards. The Lord brings hope and restoration from the troubling places we’ve been. The Lord allows us to go into the wilderness in order that we may have a personal encounter with him. Wilderness living requires dependency on our Lord to provide for our needs. This is where we find hope as we learn to lean on and trust in him. This is the place of restoration.
Today we face our valley of trouble due to the government shut down. We face furloughs that lead to the lack of paychecks for many families of government employees and decreased and limited government services for others who depend on these services. We the people wonder why congress can’t get it together. We are a nation divided. We are in trouble and an economic crises seems imminent.
Is there any hope? Always. Second Chronicles 7:14 reads, “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land” (NIV).
We pray and seek God for wisdom as we lean on and trust Him to meet all our needs. And yes, this trouble we face today can turn into a door of hope. When we open the door of hope, we will find God’s restoration and healing.
Let’s pray:
Lord, we thank You that we can come before you today. Humbling ourselves before you. Seeking Your face. Turning from our wicked ways. Lord, we seek forgiveness for our sins that have led to division. Lord, we pray our leaders will turn and seek You for wisdom. Lord, while the politicians work out issues on Capital Hill, we pray that You protect and guide us through these difficult days ahead as many of us wonder how we will pay our bills without paychecks. Lord, may we experience a personal encounter with you the living God. We depend on You to meet all of our needs according to Your glorious riches in Christ Jesus. Lord, You are our door of hope. Lead us to that door and show us the way to hope for better days ahead. In Jesus name, Amen.
© 2013 Shonda Savage
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Shonda Savage loves to encourage people to deepen their roots in Jesus with both spoken and written words. Speaking at conferences and retreats, Shonda connects with the audience through her personal triumphs and tribulations. Shonda writes for both print and online publications and she is the author of the Bible study, Wild Grace: Experiencing Your Spiritual Splendor. 