Life in the Valleys

	And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water."

—Matthew 17:14–15

We will have our mountaintop experiences in life, but we can't live off these alone. And at the bottom of every mountain, there is usually a valley.

After Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River, the Holy Spirit came upon Him in the form of a dove, and God the Father said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17). Then immediately after that, the Bible tells us, He went into the wilderness, where He was tested by the devil. So for Jesus, after the dove came the devil. After the mountaintop came the valley. After times of great blessing, there will be times of attack, times of difficulty, even times of temptation.

Waiting at the foot of the mountain after Jesus' transfiguration was a great challenge. A father brought his demon-possessed child to Jesus. This man had tried everything. He didn't know what else to do. He had reached a point of desperation.

The disciples didn't know what to do either. They had been on the mountain with Jesus, but they couldn't handle this. So Jesus touched this boy and transformed him. The Bible tells us that "Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour" (Matthew 17:18).

We can't live on the mountaintop forever. We have to come down to the valleys, and that is where the great lessons of life will be learned. It is not necessarily more mountaintop experiences that we need in the Christian life; it is more day-to-day obedience in which we are walking by faith, not by feeling.

One day, Jesus will come for us. There will be no more temptation and no more sin waiting for us. We finally will arrive at that mountaintop, and we will never leave.

In the Valley

The inspiration for this blog came from this song In the Valley, featuring Shannon Harris, wife of Joshua Harriss author of "I Kissed Dating Goodbye".

It was at the end of 2009 that I stumbled upon this song on Youtube. I was thinking of a song to reflect on for the coming year and when I heard this I knew that this is the song that I wanted to sing and reflect on. The lyrics talks about a life in Christ. It's about trusting and putting your faith in Him who promises that there's fruit that is gonna come from trials, joy in the sorrows, restoration in brokenness, and that there can be songs of His lovingkindness, faithfulness and mercy in the midst of our struggles and weaknesses -in the valley

When You lead me in the valley of vision, I can see You in the heights. And though my humbling wouldn't be my decision, it's here your glory shines so bright. 

So let me learn that the cross precedes the crown to be low is to be high, that the valley's where You make me more like Christ.

Let me find Your grace in the valley, let me find Your life, in my death, Let me find Your joy in my sorrow, Your wealth in my need, that You're near with every breath in the valley.

In the daytime there are stars in the heaven. But they only shine at night. And the deeper that I go into darkness.... the more I see their radiant light

So let me learn the my losses are my gain. To be broken is to heal that the valley's where Your power is revealed.

Let me find Your grace in the valley, let me find Your life, in my death, Let me find Your joy in my sorrow, Your wealth in my need, that You're near with every breath in the valley.

Psalm 94:18-19

"When I said, "My foot is slipping," your unfailing love supported me. When my anxiety is great within me your consolation brought me joy.

Psalm 66: 8-12

"Praise our God, all peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard; he has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping. For you, God, tested us; you refined us like silver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. You let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance."