I awoke confused. Music seemed to be coming from my bed, and for a moment I wondered why I was hearing it in the middle of the night.
Slowly, I opened my eyes. I had fallen asleep on the couch while watching a movie. I wasn't surprised!
Only ten days into a 100-day challenge, my mind was apparently exhausted.
My business partner and I were stretching to meet a goal. Add the rigors of spring tax season, along with edits on a package being prepared for a publisher, and my mind had been unable to fully rest.
As I look back over the years as a Christian, I can see there have been times of great spiritual highs. I've experienced moments when God's presence seemed so close and His direction so clear.
But there have also been spiritual lows—desert experiences, bereavements, disappointments, failures, temptations and health challenges. Times when I've wondered what God was doing and why the road had suddenly become so difficult.
Maybe you've experienced those seasons, too.
The heroes of the Bible certainly did. They stood on mountaintops of faith and walked through some of the deepest valleys imaginable. And as I read their stories, I'm reminded God didn't abandon them when they entered the valley.
He didn't abandon me, either. I've learned God isn't just the God of my mountaintop experiences. He's the God who meets me in the valley, too.
In 1 Kings 20:28, God reminded His people they had wrongly believed He was “a god of the hills and not a god of the valleys.” He would show them His power so they would know, “I am the LORD.” That verse speaks personally to me.
There have been times when I could clearly see God's goodness, and other times when I could see very little beyond the circumstances immediately in front of me. Yet looking back, I can see His faithfulness in both.
The valley doesn't mean God has left. Sometimes, it's in the valley where I become most aware of how much I need Him.
James 1:2 tells us to “count it all joy” when we face trials. I'm still learning what that means.
It doesn't mean pretending the valley isn't painful or forcing myself to be happy when I'm hurting. For me, it means choosing to trust God even when I don't understand the road I'm walking.
It reminds me of a song by Cochren & Co. that says, “It's just a storm, it's just a season. It's gonna pass. You just gotta keep on breathing. The hurt leads to healing and you realize—you can't have the highs without the lows.”
Psalm 23 has become especially meaningful to me through those seasons: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me.”
Notice it says walk through the valley. We don't have to stay there.
And we don't walk through it alone.
When I'm on the mountaintop, I want to remember who brought me there. When I'm in the valley, I want to remember who is walking beside me.
So, look up!
Whether you're celebrating a spiritual high today or struggling through a difficult low, God is right beside you. He is faithful in both places.
We are never alone.
Lord, help me surrender both my highs and my lows to You, trusting You are faithful in every season. When I find myself in the valley, remind me to look up and remember You are right beside me. Amen.
