Mountains and Valleys

A verse in Deuteronomy struck me yesterday. It is tucked in the commands Moses gave the Israelites just before they finally entered the Promised Land. He was telling them how good the land was, “a land flowing with milk and honey” (Deut 11:9). Verse 11 provided a powerful visual for me: “The land you are crossing the Jordan to take possession of is a land of mountains and valleys that drinks rain from heaven.” I realized that mountains and valleys almost always develop together.
Mountains are glorious – tall, majestic peaks that seem to reach up to the heavens. They take our breath away with their beauty and grandeur. Men climb mountains and gaze in wonder at the world below them. Mountains inspire words of prose and songs of awe. My family visited North Carolina several years ago and when we hit the Smokey Mountains I was stunned by their beauty. I’ve seen part of the Rocky Mountains and they are beyond words.
I am sure you get where I’m going. Life is full of both mountains and valleys. And rain. We all want the mountain top experience, but nobody wants to go down into the valley. We want to scale the heights with the Lord. We want to gaze in awe and wonder from that high place. But the valley is where the rain soaks in and nurtures the ground so that there is growth and fruitfulness. Some of the most stunning flowers grow in the shade of the valley.
I have been through many valleys. The truth is, I am in one right now. But if my experience has taught me anything it is that the green pastures and the quiet waters are down in the valley (Psalm 23:1-2). The valley is where we learn to walk with God and trust Him day-by-day. It is where we can most clearly see God’s goodness and mercy (Psalm 23:6).
Here is something else that spoke to my heart. Moses said, “It [the Promised Land] is a land the Lord your God cares for; the eyes of the Lord your God are continually on it . . .” (Deut 11:12). David said, “Even though I walk through the valley . . . You are with me” (Psalm 23:4). God watches over His children in the valley – He walks with us and comforts us.
Yes, the valleys are hard, but that is where we grow closer to God. When you and I are in the valley, Beloved, let’s plant some seeds of faith and hope and watch them bloom.

The Valley

This morning I was thinking about something I needed to do, something I didn’t really want to do because it often raised up a temptation I’ve been trying to put down for a long time. I prayed for help and a verse came to mind. It comes out of Psalm 23 – The Shepherd’s Psalm. Verse 4 says “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” Now, what does that have to do with temptation?

This valley is not a pastoral scene of gentle slopes between the hills but a steep, narrow gorge where the sun never reaches. The valley most attributed to this passage was the Valley of Hinnom outside the walls of Jerusalem. It was a horrible place of death as bodies of criminals and animals and the town’s rubbish were thrown there and fires burned continually to consume them. The ”shadow of death” is a place of extreme danger and thick darkness – an apt description of the valley. It was also a place where kings and priest sent their own children to be burned alive to appease the gods – a horrible sin.

Death and sin go hand in hand. From the very beginning, God told the first humans that when they sin (disobey God) they “will surely die” (Gen 2:17). Paul said that “The wages of sin is death” (Rom 6:23). The valley was a terrifying place of sin and death. But it was also a place people had to pass to get to the gates of the city. Here’s where this all comes together. You and I will be faced with sin and its consequences as long as we are on this earth. We can’t escape it. But we don’t have to fear it. God is with us. If we walk closely with Him we can traverse the sin and death of this world without falling into it. That’s what God was saying to me this morning. “Don’t be afraid of what you need to do. I am with you. I will not let you fall.” And He didn’t.

Beloved, the world is filled with sin and death, but if you belong to Christ you can face it with faith in your Shepherd. Your very Good Shepherd who died to save you – His precious little lamb.