A LAND OF HILLS AND VALLEYS

Deuteronomy 11, verse 10-12 says, “10 For the land, whither thou goest in to possess it, is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out, where thou sowedst thy seed, and wateredst it with thy foot, as a garden of herbs: 11 But the land, whither ye go to possess it, is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven: 12 A land which the Lord thy God careth for: the eyes of the Lord thy God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year even unto the end of the year.”

We understand that Moses is telling the children of Israel that they will one day pass into Canaanland, the Promised Land; the land that God had espied for them; the land flowing with milk and honey, the land that was the glory of all lands for the children of Israel.  But Moses tells them that when they get there, it will be a land with both hills and valleys.  Although Canaanland is a picture of victorious Christian living, the Bible tells us here that there are not only hilltops in Canaanland, but there are also some valleys.

In I Kings chapter 20, we are going to find a wicked King by the name of Benadad (he is the King of Syria). King Benadad comes up against another wicked King by the name of Ahab, (he is the King of Israel).  But God has chosen to give Israel the victory.

Look at verse 22, “And the prophet came to the king of Israel, and said unto him, Go, strengthen thyself, and mark, and see what thou doest: for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against thee.”

The prophet of God in verse 22 is telling King Ahab that although he has won a great victory here, the enemy is not finished – the are going to come again. Now isn’t that the way it is in our lives? Now look at verse 23, “And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, Their gods are gods of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they.”

Here we find that the advisors to King Benadad tell him, “King, their God is a God of the Hilltops; He’s a God of the Mountains. But if we can get them down in the plains; if we can get them down in the lowlands – down in the valley – we can defeat them there.”

But notice with me verse 28, “And there came a man of God, and spake unto the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith the Lord, Because the Syrians have said, The Lord is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that I am the Lord.”

Now I believe that Satan and his crowd would like you and I to believe that our God is only a God of the Mountains, and if they can get you and I down in the lowlands, down in the valley, then they can defeat us.  Now they are right about one thing – GOD IS GOD OF THE MOUNTAINS. And I’ll tell you, I’ve had some mountaintop experiences in my life. And I love being up on top of that mountain.  I enjoy feeling the presence of God in my life.  But the truth is, mountaintop experiences do not tend to last to long.  You can go from having one of the greatest spirit experiences one day to having one of the worst the next.

But I have a consolation to share with you – the same God that is with you up on the mountaintop, is just as big a God with you in the Valley!  If you have been a Christian for any length of time, you have either been in a valley, going through a valley, or about to enter a valley. You can be assured of it.

But I want you to know that your valley experience didn’t take God by surprise and He has allowed that valley to come into your life.  If you are in the valley right now, I can I can confidently say to you:

• God knows where you are at!
• And He hasn’t lost sight of you in the valley!

Now, I used to think God was big up there on that mountaintop, but I’ve learned He’s awfully big down there in the valley as well.  So, rather than praying that God will get you out of the valley experiences of your life, maybe ask Him what you can get out of those times in your life!