This world is not our home.  We are pilgrims passing through.  We are not headed for the Promised Land as some folks say.  Canaan is a type of the Abundant Life of which Jesus spoke.  Each of us should be enjoying that now as a part of our pilgrimage.  But it is not our final destination.  Heaven is our home.  And there are some valleys through which we must pass before we get there.

    There is the Valley of Tears, through which we are led more than once.  When we set our hearts on pilgrimage, and see God’s hand in what is happening, we can turn our tears into a well - a place of refreshment for others.  (Psalm 84:5-7)

    There is the Valley of Trouble, through which we must go because of sin - ours and that of others.  In that valley we can claim God’s beautiful promise that the valley of Achor (trouble) is a door of hope - a way back to fellowship with Him, where we will sing an old song for a new day.  (Hosea 2:14-15)

    Then there is the Valley of Transition - a valley we experience at several places in our journey.

    First, we go through this valley at the death of someone we love.  There is often much sorrow and many tears in this place.  The closer the attachment and the deeper the love, the more it hurts when a loved one dies.  But the hurt and the tears are for us, not for them.  We are hurting and we are crying, not because of what our loved one has experienced, but because of what we are experiencing.  We may find ourselves in this valley more than once.  It is always a difficult time.

    Second, we go through this valley when we ourselves step into eternity to meet God.  Some folks approach this place with fear, others with dread.  But neither emotion or attitude is proper for the child of God.  If we really understand and believe the teachings of the Bible, we don’t see death as an end, but as a beginning.  It is a time of transition from this limited, sin-plagued life, to a life of joy and peace in unhindered fellowship with Jesus.

    The important thing to note is that David said “though I pass through the valley.”  We are not meant to stay in this valley, grieving for our lost loved ones.  We are to go through.  Our lives must go on.  The best may be ahead.  Nor are we to view our own death as going into a dark place in which we stay.  We will go through the valley into a better place.

    We can go through the valley because Jesus will be with us as we go.  David said,“I will fear no evil, for thou art with me.”  Fellowship with Jesus  is always in the present tense.  If we enjoy it day by day, we will have it when we go through this valley also.

    I have been a Christian for sixty years, and a preacher for fifty-three.  I look forward to  actually seeing the One I have loved and served all these years.  And I know that will happen someday, because I will go   through the valley holding the hand that has held mine so long.