The Struggle, the Lesson, and the Revelation
Recently, I made a delivery to a customer whose driveway dipped sharply from the main road. We had received heavy snow days before this delivery, and they had not fully cleared it. What remained was slush, coupled with icy patches beneath it.
Coming out of my customer’s driveway became quite the adventure.
My car struggled over the mushy slush and slippery ice. A few times, it swerved toward the snowbank close to the main road, only to start sliding backward while still in drive. Of course, I would step on the brakes, switch gears, back up, and then try to drive forward again. I didn’t want to press harder on the gas pedal lest I drive straight out into traffic.
After a few failed attempts, I started praying in the Spirit, asking the Lord to help me climb out of the messy driveway and for the road to be clear of cars.
I needed a clean break.
This time around, I reversed my car a bit farther, closer to the garage, and then stepped on the gas. I held the momentum, urging my car to keep moving, and after a bit of a struggle, I was able to drive out of the driveway onto an empty road.
While driving away from the customer’s house, I started thinking (okay… fine, I was grumbling 🙂 ). Customers ought to clear their driveways, especially when they know I am making a delivery for them. I’m grateful for my business and the fact that I can deliver my products locally. Still, it is their responsibility to make the way accessible.
In the middle of that frustrated thought process, I had a light-bulb moment and said, “Okay God, I feel like there’s a lesson here.”
A car is usually symbolic of ministry or calling, and a moving car represents momentum and movement. You see, there were places in my life where I had felt stuck. I was obedient and diligent, yet the resistance was heavy—and honestly, it felt unnatural.
“Lord, have I been using my own strength to do things?” I asked.
As He began to speak, I listened.
“Daughter, no, you have not been using your own strength to come out of the valley. You are having a hard time leaving the valley because the person who was supposed to have gone before you dropped the ball. They did not deal with the things they were supposed to deal with. They did not go through the process they were meant to go through so that you wouldn’t have to struggle to come out of this place. I will give you momentum to come out with strength…”
The bible tells us in Isaiah 40:4 – “Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth.”
As the Lord spoke, I saw where the person who had been assigned to me had abandoned their assignment. They were meant to trailblaze a path that I—and others—were to walk through, but they left it uncharted.
I wept for myself and for those who had been left to dig wells that should have already been dug; for those who had been dropped by their covering; for those who had been rejected and cast out. I wept for those who were forced to stop and build a foundation that should have already been built.
Oh, my heart broke for the ones left wandering in the wilderness—dropped in the valley, questioning if they had heard God correctly, wondering if they had missed a pivotal moment.
The truth is, not everyone who is stuck is disobedient or chasing a path not meant for them. There are many who were dropped—abandoned by carriers who left their assignment.
The midwife left her post when you were ready to birth the promise.
The intercessor left you uncovered, resulting in unnecessary warfare.
The person who was supposed to lay the foundation so that you wouldn’t have to struggle so much coming out stopped digging.
Instead of being sustained through breakthrough, you were left to find your own way—to wander while shouldering a weight you were never meant to carry. They had the capacity to carry you through, yet for whatever reason, they left.
I love this encouragement from Isaiah 66:9
“Shall I bring to the birth, and not cause to bring forth? saith the Lord: shall I cause to bring forth, and shut the womb? saith thy God.”
To the one who was left, to the one who was abandoned—don’t quit and don’t give up. Keep crying out to God. He hears the voice in the wilderness and rescues the weary one in the desert.
The valley will not last forever. It is a passage way not your destination.
The resistance will not block you anymore. God will use it to propel you.
Your womb will not cast what it has carried through seasons of preparation. The Holy Spirit will step into the position of the midwife and help you birth the promise.
God will give you momentum to come out of the valley. The one who was meant to hold up your hands until you broke through may have left you, but God is picking you up. The High Priest will hold up your hands until the battle is won.
The One who created mountains and valleys is able to raise the valley and flatten the hills so you walk on an even plane field. He is able to turn the desert into an oasis to sustain you through the season you need to navigate His process. He is able to silence the taunts of your enemies.
Forgive those who dropped their assignment. Release yourself from the mess they left behind. Refuse to remain in the sludge of their disobedience, and ask God to make a way out.
Don’t leave your assignment because they left the burden of theirs with you.
Don’t abort the promise because the weight of it is heavy.
Don’t stop pushing because birthing pains are intense.
Remember: the One who brings to birth will bring it forth.
Jesus will never drop you, and He will always sustain you where He has sent you. Stand. Keep moving forward. You will come out on the other side.
Love & Blessings – Eunice.
