God of the Mountains…God of the Valleys
November 30th, 2006 | by Ed |Is your God just a God of the moutains, or is He a God of the valleys too?
I was reading 1 Kings 20 recently. Ben-Hadad, King of Aram, waged war against Ahab, king of Israel. The Israelites were vastly outnumbered. However, a prophet of God assured Ahab of victory and, indeed, he routed the Arameans. But, the Arameans mustered an even greater army the following spring to again fight Israel.
Again, the prophet comes to ressure Ahab. In 1 Kings 20:28, we read:
“This is what the Lord says, ‘Because the Arameans think the Lord is a god of the mountains and not of the valleys, I will deliver this vast army into your hands, and you will know that I am the Lord.’”
The taunt of the enemy is, “Sure, they have the victory in the mountains. The money’s coming in, the family is healthy, and everything is going well. Their god is a god of the mountains.
“But their god is not a god of the valleys. They won’t have the victory in the valleys–when the money’s gone, when they’re facing serious health problems, and when nothing is going their way.”
The enemy’s greatest attacks come to us in the valleys of our lives, when we’re discouraged, doubting, disappointed, and facing adversity. In those times, God wants to reveal Himself as the God of the valleys.
The Christian life is not leaping from mountaintop to mountaintop. We experience mountains and valleys…and God is the God of both!