The Deeper Valley
by Russell Kelfer
(Click the Play button to hear Russell read the poem)
The valley is where man meets with God
And causes man to discern
What brings joy to the heart of God
And what makes man to learn.
The valley is where priorities change
Where money, houses and fame
Cease to glitter, and start to melt
At the mention of His name.
The valley is where life is,
Precious life that’s hard to grow,
That which only by sheltered palm
Can handle the summer’s glow.
The valley is where the heart aches
And deepens for others its care,
And learns to reach out to other hearts
And show them that God is there.
But the valley is also a mystery
For learning its message will
Strangely enough prepare a man
For a deeper valley still.
A valley that rests beneath it all
Where few men e’re have been,
A valley below, where few seem to go
That stretches the heart of men.
Call it the deeper valley,
Call it whate’re you choose,
But that man in that deeper valley
Has all but Christ to lose,
Has nothing left to clutch or hold,
Has nought to call his own,
For every trace of what was his
Rests now beneath God’s throne.
And all he has to cling to
And all he has to claim,
Is that quiet, calm assurance
That he owns the Master’s name.
That through that deeper valley,
With all its cliffs and stones,
He has the inner confidence
He does not walk alone.
Are you wrestling in the valley?
Is the light so dim and drear
That through tears of endless weeping
You sometimes doubt He’s near?
‘Tis yet the finished work of God
For you to see in part,
For few have known His deeper work
And fewer known His heart.
Cease crying in the valley,
Cease claiming what is yours,
Cease clawing for the surface,
Seeking all life’s so-called “cures”.
Instead, seek the deeper valley
And if God should take you there,
Simply yield yourself into His hands
And rest within His care.
Few men reach that deeper valley,
Even fewer learn to rest,
While the careful hand of Jesus
Shapes and molds them through each test.
Ah, but those who make the journey
And in God’s power return,
Become searchlights in the darkness
To which struggling lives can turn.
What’s your prayer when pressure comes?
“From this valley rescue me?”
Or is it, “Lord, the deeper valley
Is the place I long to be.”
For I know a God who loves me
Even when the storms increase,
Yea, now in total darkness
May I know a God of peace.
DTM Discipleship Tape Ministries
POB 782256, San Antonio, TX 78278
1-800-375-7778 or 210-226-0000
www.dtm.org • dtm@dtm.org • © Russell Kelfer
