God of the Hills and the Valleys
By Elder André M. Powell
1 Kings 20:28 (KJV): “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.”
1 Kings 20:28 (NLT): “Then the man of God went to the king of Israel and said, “This is what the Lord says: The Arameans have said, ‘The Lord is a god of the hills and not of the plains.’ So I will defeat this vast army for you. Then you will know that I am the Lord.”
Thought:
When is the best time to call on God? Should we only call Him when things are going wrong in our lives? When things do not feel the best? Or should we call Him when things are just great and amazing in our life? When our kids are doing everything right and coming home with high marks or when they run the teacher crazy and are kicked out of class? It is so interesting to see how many of us are quick to run to the Lord when we are in a valley in our lives. When we are on a hill, many of us do not even take the time to say thank you.
In our Scripture, the Syrians tried to put a limit on God, but He would prove them completely wrong. Have you ever considered, while the mountain top experience is what we all strive for, if we would look at it differently, we might enjoy the valleys more? The mountain top symbolizes everything going your way. You have reached the top and you can look down and view everything that is going on. No one is likely to sneak up on you while on top, and the air is clear and crisp. Your vantage point is the best it can be; however, what is happening up there? When you are on the top of a mountain nothing is growing up there. There is usually boulders and rocks, the air is thin and significantly colder, and oftentimes, it is lonelier up there.
Compare this to the valleys of life. They do not always feel the best. Emotionally, we are the most vulnerable and protective at the same time. Things are not working out and probably a number of failures have happened. You have limited visibility to everything. In the natural valley the grass is greener, the plants are growing, and there are a great deal of animals and food available. You can still see the mountain from where you are and it can be intimidating, but I want to remind you of who made the mountain. We may look at it one way, but God is truly the maker of both and knows how to keep us, no matter where we find ourselves. He is on our side whether we are on cloud 9 or in our deepest valley. God is in control of it all if we truly can give it back to Him.