God of Mountains and Valleys

Life can be summed up as a collection of highs and lows.  It is a mixture of joys and sorrows.  I have learned that in life, after a mountaintop experience, and sometimes during your mountaintop experience, there is often a valley. 

In 1 Kings 20, the nation of Israel is at war with Syria.  Israel’s King Ahab really didn’t have a strategy for fighting Ben-hadad.  But in the midst of his uncertainty, there came a word of certainty from the Lord.  God tells Ahab, “I’m going to give you the victory so that you will know that I am the Lord” (v. 13).  This victory was a mountaintop experience for Ahab and the young men who defeated Ben-hadad.  Israel was the underdog.  They were smaller, had less experience and had already given up before they decided to fight. 

After their defeat, Syria is wondering how they would have lost the battle.  They figured that since Samaria was on a hill, and since its sister city, Jerusalem, was on a hill, then the God of Israel must be a god of the hills.  So their strategy was to get Israel out of the comfort zone of its God and fight in the valley, instead of on a hill.

You can’t afford to get so caught up in your victory that you are unprepared for the enemy when he regroups and reloads to attack you again.  While you are celebrating your mountaintop victory, the enemy is refining his strategy, reorganizing his troops and rehearsing his plans.

However, victory is not based on the strength, power and size of the army, but victory lies in the strength, power and sovereignty of God.  God has already promised us the victory.  Satan wants you to believe that God can’t handle your valleys.  He wants you to believe that there are some areas of your life that are not God’s territory. 

​But the God of the mountain is still God when you are in your valley.  The God who blessed you with a good job, is still God when you get laid off.  The God who gave you your health and strength is still God in your sickness and weakness.  The God you thanked when you got married is still God when things are so bad that you are thinking about a divorce.  God is not just God of the mountains; He is also God of the valley.