Valley Forge Moments.

Well as you guessed it I will be talking about trails not only why trails happen but what is the purpose of them. A great example of a trail is the one in Valley Forge  during the Revolutionary War. They went in Valley Forge beaten and hopeless and it got worse as the winter rolled in. Many wanted to give up. But also during this time they trained themselves under the help of Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben who turned a bunch of farmers and ordinary men into the fighting force that would eventually be the British.

Many of face moments that seem like the end of the world and feel there is on escape from it. Some give up on faith. Others still try to fight there way out when fighting just makes things worse. And a few decide to end it all. God does is doing one of two things in these moments tho. One he is letting your bad choices play out for while is a God of love and Mercy he will let you live with the choices you made. Two he is trying to Forge you into an more stronger person than you where before. Trying to change you for the better by making you live through the times where you cannot see the light at the end of the tunnel.

James says it best in James 1:2-8 2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters,[a] whenever you face trials of many kinds,3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

I personally know this statement to be true. A few months ago I lost my Cousin and yes to this day it still hurts and while God had nothing to do with his passing he has been using it to strengthen us as a family and as individuals. While I would give anything to have him back I cannot ingore the good God has done through something that the enemy wanted so badly to use to drive many from him. For months I been like the guy that James mentioned in 6 through 8 and know how hard it is to face such a trail but a few good friends and the recently the love of my life keep reminding me that Jesus was with me and turning my back on him was not going to make things better.

You see he uses these Valley Forge moments not only to strength us but to bring us closer to him. Not only to get us to see our limits but to bring us out of darkness even when he was not the cause. The worst thing one can do is to give up on Jesus and the hope you have in him. Even when the world is falling apart around you Many people faced worse in his name and for his name sake Like Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The Jesus chosen 12 who all but one faced horrible deaths and the one that lived was sent to an island to live by himself after the failed to kill him by boiling him to death.  With Christ at our side not even the world can hold us back. With Christ by our side even in death we win. It is what Iranian Christians know. It is what all middle Eastern Christians know and every other Christian who has been hunted down in the name of Fascism. Weather it comes in the form of atheism or religion Fascism or any type you can think of. They face that world with hope in there hearts for they know in the end they know who is in charge and where they are going if they die. So no matter how hard it gets turn to your heavenly king Jesus. He was beaten and killed. He lost family and friends and was even outcast by the government and the church leaders of the time. Even by his friends before his death. He understands your pain and wants to even carry the burden for you. Turn to him in these moments. Know he is with you in these moments.  Isaiah 61:1