When I was a girl I would hear the people in our church talk about “mountain top” experiences in their walk with the Lord. It was wonderful to hear those testimonies. However, quite often they would also say, “we can’t always live on the mountain top, we have to accept the valleys too”.
Frankly, that was confusing to me. It sounded like they were saying that we couldn’t always have that closeness with God in the valleys of life.
This morning I was reading in I Kings 20 and that was what the enemies of Israel were saying about God. They had gone out to make war against King Ahab. King Ben-Hadad had the armies of 32 other kings with him, the Israelite army had 232 valiant rulers and a marching army of 7000. It appeared the Israelites would be easily defeated.
But God…
“Now the servants of the king of Syria said to him, “Israel’s gods are gods of the mountains. So they were stronger than we. But let us fight against them in the plain, and for sure we will be stronger than they. 24 And do this. Take each of the kings from his place, and put captains in their places. 25 Gather together an army like the army you lost, horse for horse, and war-wagon for war-wagon. Then we will fight against Israel in the plain. For sure we will be stronger than they.” And Ben-hadad listened to them and did so.” I Kings 20:23-25 NLV
So, at the beginning of the following year King Ben-Hadad went out against Israel again, this time in a valley. The description given of the Israelite army is they looked like two little flocks of goats while the Arameans covered the land. Once again, they were greatly outnumbered.
“Then a man who spoke for God came to the king of Israel and said, “This is what the Lord says. ‘The Syrians have said, “The Lord is a god of the mountains, but He is not a god of the valleys.” So I will give all these many people to you. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’” I Kings 20:28 NLV
Whether we are experiencing mountain-top victories or the battles in the valleys God rules. He promises us that when we walk through the valleys of the shadow of death, He is there with us and we have no reason to fear.
God is not limited by location or by circumstance! There is nothing too hard for the Lord. When we keep our eyes on Him and follow His leading, we will see the same thing that the Israelite king saw and “Then you will know that I am the Lord”.
There’s a song that I used to sing years ago, and it came to mind this morning as I was reading these verses.
“For the God on the mountain, is still God in the valley
When things go wrong, He’ll make them right
And the God of the good times, is still God in the bad times
The God of the day is still God in the night”
Mountain-top or valley – we will experience both, but we will never be alone for God is with us!