“Just one more hill. Push!” the wearied soldier tells himself, as he presses forward, moving up the dusty trail.
He pauses for a moment to wipe the sweat from his brow. The dry air and dust caked on his hands scratches his forehead, but he barely notices the pain. His hands are brown and caked with dirt, now glistening from sweat mixed with blood. His face looks no better, having been marred by weeks worth of the stains of battle and the dirt of the road. It has been some time since he’s had any real rest, but he knows that there surely must be relief and a place to rest just up ahead. He trusts the General who gave him this mission.
“Forward, forward, forward,” his mind repeats almost mechanically.
His legs are so tired and his body so sore, each step must be deliberate. He must will himself to put one leg in front of the other up this steep incline. The hill he’s been climbing has been getting more and more steep, yet he laughs it off, even though his body is screaming out in pain.
He has never been in this physical area before, but he’s been in this place before – tired, wiped out, the road in front of him taunting him, telling him he’ll never make it and the hardship will never end. He laughs because he knows that this is all temporary. He knows that for every hill, there is a new plateau, and the General has never lead him wrong. He knows he’ll have just enough strength to make it, as he always does.
He reaches for the canteen of water tied to his belt and takes a refreshing drink of water. The cool, tasteless water meets his cracked lips and slides down his throat, breathing a quick breath of life back into his body. Although he enjoys this calculated moment of refreshing, he knows that the bottle is getting low. He has trained his body after many years to be able to survive in low conditions, and he has been pacing himself, but even now, he knows that he will need to refill soon if he is going to survive.
“Never mind it,” he thinks, brushing it aside, “Forward, forward, forward. One leg in front of the other.”
Fifteen more minutes go by, and the soldier feels his body beginning to give out after another very long day’s walk. The years of experience has lead him to know when he’s pushed as far as his body will allow. He knows that it’s time to rest. Thankfully, he can spot an old tree, looming overhead, just a little bit up the road. He can see that there is not much life in it. There are only a few leaves near the top, which makes sense as there is not much water or life in this region and the air is thin because of the altitude. Nevertheless, he knows it will do just fine for a place to rest for the evening.
He lets out a sigh and presses forward, taking his last few steps as his legs grow weak and wobbly, spending their lasts drops of energy for the day. Only a few more steps and he will be there. Over the horizon, he sees the sun beginning to set. As he takes his final few steps, he makes it to the tree and throws his survival pack down at its base. Before he can sit down, however, what he sees shocks him. There before him, the trail ends. As he takes another step forward to get a better view, he kicks a few rocks over the edge and hears no sound. Nearing even closer, his heart sinks by what he sees.
He is overlooking a massive valley, kilometers below his point of altitude. The sight would normally be beautiful, with the sun gently setting in the distance like a large, fiery, orange ball descending into an ocean of living things. Down in the valley he can see many areas of life – ponds, trees, herds of animals settling down to take their rest in the cool of the day.
There is only one problem with the beautiful picture sprawled out before him. It is impossible to reach.
Why would the General lead him to this place? Did he misread the map? Stunned, and feeling numb inside, he falls back against the old tree, which generously took the impact of his weight. Slowly, the tired soldier slid down to the ground, his back still supported by the massive weight of the old tree. A gentle breeze began to blow, and a calm peace slowly settled across his mind. He didn’t understand this feeling. He should be feeling betrayed, yet somehow he knew that everything was alright.
“Even if I die here,” he thought, “I fought a good fight, and I did what I was asked.”
Confused, yet peaceful, his mind drifted, and he fell asleep, still leaning against the old, sturdy tree.
I have a question for you all, today. What do you do when you come to the end of yourself?
When you’ve done all you can do, your body is bruised and bloody, your limbs are tired, but you’ve learned what it is to soldier on. And yet, this time, the road ends before you, and there is no way forward. Is it the end? Did you misread the map?
Hosea 2:15 talks about “The Valley of Achor”, which literally means, “The Valley of Trouble”. It says the following:
‘I will give her … the valley of Achor for a door of hope.’ — HOSEA 2:15.
Alexander Maclaren, in his work titled “Expositions of Holy Scripture” says this,
In that wilderness God will speak to the heart of Israel. Its barrenness shall be changed into the fruitfulness of vineyards, where the purpling clusters hang ripe for the thirsty travellers. And not only will the sorrows that He sends thus become sources of refreshment, but the gloomy gorge through which they journey — the valley of Achor — will be a door of hope.
However long, however barren, [and] however rugged … we see a bright form descending the rocky way with radiant eyes and calm lips. [It is] God’s messenger, Hope.
Alexander Maclaren – Expositions on Holy Scripture – The Valley of Achor
Perhaps you find yourself on top of that same cliff, tired and with all of your energy spent. You trusted the Plotter of your Course, but you see no way forward. You are wondering how you will move forward. This, friends, is what it means to come to the end of yourself.
The Door of Hope
The end of yourself is the place where you see that the road in front of you can no longer take you where you need to go. It is a place where you can see the destiny set before you, but there is no path forward to get there. It can be an exhausting and disappointing place. Yet I’m telling you today, that as it is for the Israelites, God is speaking over you that it will be a Door of Hope.
When the road gives out in front of you and you’ve come to the end of yourself, there is hope. That Hope is found in the fact that it is no longer your road to walk. When what is before you is a valley, you no longer need you rely on your legs. It is time to for what is written in Isaiah 40:31.
“But those who hopein the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” – Isaiah 40:31
When you come to the old, sturdy tree at the top of where your map has lead you, like the soldier in our story, lean against it. This Old Tree is the Tree of Hope. And the leaves at the top are the signs of new life that lie within. We place our Trust in the Hope of the Vision set before us. During this time, the Lord will renew your strength and will give you the Wings of Eagles, so you may soar where you once walked. When it is time to land, you will run and not grow weary. You will walk and not grow faint, because it is no longer merely your own legs (your ability) that will take you where you need to go.
Because now – you have Eagle’s Wings. These Wings represents the Anointing.
By the Wings of the Anointing, you will do what you could not do. All of the things your personality or your physical limitations have prevented you from doing will be nothing, for the Eagles Wings will carry you. No soldier on earth can fly, and so even the bravest and strongest could not make it past the Valley of Achor, but the eagle soars majestically over it, and lands where he wills. To the eagle, The Valley of Trouble is nothing but beautiful scenery during his flight.
So it will be for you whose HOPE is placed in the Lord. Those who lean on the Tree of Life.
I speak over you, now, HOPE, LIFE, and may you mount up with Eagle’s Wings.
Remember that coming to the end of yourself is not a punishment, it is a reward. Now you will be able to do what no man before you could do, because it is no longer by the strength of a man, but by the Spirit of the Living God that you soar and take up your Authority.
Soar, you Eagles of might and strength. May the Wind (Ruach) of the Spirit be beneath your Wings!
Selah!