There are times when we endure a season of suffering and, through it all, enjoy a heightened sense of God's presence. But what about those times when it feels like God has dumped you in the middle of something hard and left you on your own to figure it out? Where is God then?
Over the years I've asked this question a lot. Some questions have no answers outside Heaven, but along the way, God has taught me two very important lessons.
The first lesson is illustrated in 1 Kings 20, when Ahab, the king of Israel, is warned by a prophet that the Arameans (some translations say "the Syrians") are gearing up for attack. Ahab prepares the Israelites for battle and goes out to meet Aram, but an embarrassing sight awaits them. The Arameans fill the country, while the Israelites in comparison look like two small flocks of goats (v. 27)!
The situation looks pretty grim, but Israel is about to find out that God has a beef with Aram. "Then a man of God came near and spoke to the king of Israel and said, 'Thus says the LORD, "Because the Arameans have said, 'The LORD is a god of the mountains, but He is not a god of the valleys', therefore I will give all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the LORD" ' " (v. 28).
At that time, pagan nations like Aram believed that gods had only so much power, and were confined to specific areas (like mountains and valleys). According to notes written on 1 Kings 20:23 from the Ryrie Study Bible, the Arameans wanted to fight in the valley because they believed that Israel could only win if they fought battles on the hills, since Israel's God controlled the hills.
There really is no need to finish the story, because God had set Himself in opposition to Aram, which means that no matter how many troops Aram brought against God, He would win. What I want you to see is what offended God in the first place.
He was offended by the accusation that He was only a God of the hills, and not also a God of the valleys.
If you know me well enough, you know that I hear that with a different perspective entirely!
Christians sometimes label stormy seasons as "valleys" and sunny, celebratory seasons as "mountaintops." (I know I do!) If we take this point of view and apply it to Aram's accusation of God, it sounds like Aram is saying, "You're only in control, present, and gracious during the sunny times. But when the stormy times come, You go M.I.A.!"
This is a lie, no matter how true it may sometimes feel. God wants it made very clear that He is equally as present (sometimes even more so to our awareness) in the valley.
"For the LORD your God has blessed you in all that you have done; He has known your wanderings through this great wilderness. These forty years the LORD your God has been with you; you have not lacked a thing." -Deuteronomy 2:7
"But the land that you are going over to possess is a land of hills and valleys, which drinks water by the rain from heaven, a land that the LORD your God cares for. The eyes of the LORD your God are always upon it, from the beginning of the year to the end of the year." -Deuteronomy 11:11-12
"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me." -Psalms 23:4
God never, ever, ever lets go of your hand. He has not left you, even though you feel alone. David says that there is no way we can lose God or get away from Him (Psalms 139: 7-10). He is most certainly a God of the valleys!
But what about my original question? If God is with us in the valley, then where is He?
It's SO true that we have a heightened awareness of him during the valleys! I think it's easier to seek Him and recognize His presence when we're forced to. It's those moments on the mountaintops where it's harder to focus on Him because we don't think we need Him as much. So much truth to this blog, Jo! <3
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