HE'S STILL GOD, EVEN IN THE VALLEY

HE'S STILL GOD, EVEN IN THE VALLEY


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CM8PaZQg3ww&feature=related

“The Israelite gods are gods of the hills; that is why they won. But we can beat them easily on the plains.” 1 Kings 20:23

There had been some treacherous times for the people of Israel. Their wicked king, Ahab, had been guilty of leading the people to worship the Canaanite god Baal, instead of the Lord God Jehovah. As a result, wickedness filled the land of Israel and they were headed on a collision course with the judgment of God. However, in the midst of their sins, God still loved His people. Thank God, His love never fails. “Long ago the LORD said to Israel: “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.” (Jer. 31:3)

During this time, Israel was attacked by the neighbor to the east, Syria. When this battle was waged, God allowed Ahab and the people of Israel to defeat the Syrians and to claim the victory. However, Ahab is notified that the Syrians do not plan to accept defeat so easily. He is told that they will return to fight again. It is this second battle that we want to look at in this lesson. There are truths taught here that will help each of us as we journey for the Lord in these days.

In the Syrian army we see a picture of our adversary, the devil. When we are enabled by the Lord to win a victory against him, we can count on him returning to fight another day. His desire is to see us defeated one way or the other. If he doesn't win in one area of our life, he will change the direction of his attack and come at us again – “Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. (1 Pet. 5:8). We will see that this is just what the Syrian army tried against Israel. However, just as the Syrians were defeated and Israel walked in victory, we can walk in victory too! Let’s look at a few simple truths from this passage that let us know that He Is Still God, Even In The Valleys Of Life.

A DANGEROUS ASSUMPTION

The Syrians make a dangerous assumption concerning the God of the Israelites. Since they were defeated in the first battle on the hills surrounding Samaria, they assume that the Israelite God is a mountain God only. Their strategy is to get the Israelites to fight in the valley, where they think they will easily defeat them. For the Syrians this would be a costly assumption, however, it is a gamble the devil makes all the time.

You see, when we are on the "mountain" spiritually, we are hard for the devil to handle. When we are walking around with a shout in our soul and glory in our hearts, we are a force to be reckoned with. It is hard for Satan to defeat an excited Christian. Maybe that is why Nehemiah said "the joy of the LORD is your strength." (Neh. 8:10)

If the devil squeezes us and all he gets is praise to God for His efforts, he is likely to stop squeezing after a while!

It was advertised that the devil was going to put his tools up for sale. On the date of the sale the tools were placed for public inspection, each being marked with its sale price. There were a treacherous lot of implements. Hatred, Envy, Jealousy, Doubt, Lying, Pride, and so on. Laid apart from the rest of the pile was a harmless-looking tool, well-worn and priced very high. "What is the name of that tool?" asked one of the purchasers.

"Oh," said the adversary, "that's Discouragement." "Why have you priced it so high?"

"Because it's more useful to me than the others. I can pry open and get inside a person's heart with that one, when I cannot get near him with other tools. Now once I get inside, I can make him do what I choose. It's a badly worn tool, because I use it on almost everyone since few people know it belongs to me."

The devil's price for Discouragement was so high, he never sold it. It's still his major tool, and he still uses it on God's people today. It has been said that "Discouragement is the handle that fits all the devil's tools." The idea here is that Satan knows that when we are on the mountain, we are hard to get at. Therefore, he assumes that if he can get us in the valley, we will be easier to defeat. Sadly, he has been right in many, many cases. If the devil can get us to focus on the negative aspects of any situation, he can get us discouraged. If he can get us discouraged, he can get us defeated. If he can get us defeated, he can steal the victory of the Lord right out of our heart.)

Sometimes we need to reminded of this statement: life is 10% about what happens to us and 90% about we react to what happens to us! If we develop a "woe is me" attitude concerning the events of life, then we are going to be easy prey for the devil.

Has the devil tried this trap in your life? Has he used the tool of discouragement on you? We can almost guarantee that he has! Not to give him any credit, but discouragement works better on most of us than any other tactic the devil can try. If he can just get us off that mountain top, we will be easier for him to handle!

DYNAMIC ANNOUNCEMENT

There was only one problem with the Syrian's assumption concerning God: God was greater than they thought He was! He sends his prophet to tell Ahab that God is going to prove Himself to be God of the valley as well as God of the mountain. He assures His people of victory!

Today we need to be reminded that God is bigger than our valley. It is easier to serve the Lord when we are on the mountain top. It is easier when we are excited about the Lord and about His work. However, when we go into one of the valley experiences of life, His is still God! When we enter the valley of physical pain, He is still God! When we enter the valley of spiritual discouragement, He is still God. When we enter the valley of sorrow, He is still God. Regardless of the valley we are forced to enter, we will find out that He is still God!

That is why the Bible is literally filled with promises that teach us that God is in control. Verses like Rom. 8:28 – “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them”; 1 Cor. 15:57 - “But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ”; 2 Cor. 4:17 - For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!”, and others let us know that our God is determined to prove to us that He is God in every circumstance that we face.

For us, victory begins to be realized when we come to understand that Satan wants us to be defeated, but that God has promised we can walk in the victory in spite of our circumstances. When everything around us suggests that we should be discouraged and defeated, God still says that we have the victory. "… despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.” (Rom. 8:37)

In the final analysis, genuine spiritual victory is never a matter of what we are facing in life. Genuine spiritual victory is simple faith in the promises of God. We are victorious, not because everything is perfect in our life, we are victorious because God is in control of our life and He says that we are victorious. Therefore, regardless of the situation, we can rest in the promise of God. The battle may raging around us, but it does not have to rage within us! While we may be in the battle, God has already won the war and we are victorious because He said so!

This lesson is not promoting "positive thinking”. It is promoting taking God at His word and believing what He tells us, instead of what the devil or the flesh may be saying.

More than anything else, the path out of the valley begins with the ability to surrender to God in every circumstance. )

A DIVINE ACCOMPLISHMENT

The people of Israel believed God and enjoyed a tremendous victory over the Syrian army. They saw their enemy put to flight by the power of God working through them.

This is the place God desires to bring us to. He wants us to come to that place where we realize that He is God regardless of what we are facing. He wants us to get our eyes off our need and get them “on Jesus.” (Heb. 12:2) He wants us to know that He is able, as Paul writes in Ephesians. 3:20. “…. through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.

So regardless of what we think about what we are facing, God is still God! Shame on us when we live like He isn't!

This is where the victory is enjoyed. Notice not won! Why not? Because God has already won all our victories for us. We live in defeat and discouragement because we refuse to embrace victory by faith. We should never allow Satan or the flesh to cause us to wallow in our valley. Never allow them to get us discouraged, or to cause us to think that God is unable or unwilling to help us out. The truth of the matter is this: victory is available, all the time, in every situation, for every child of God. Then why don't most Christians have victory in their lives? Simply because they are waiting for a “feeling” instead of accepting what God has already given us by faith!

There is no way of knowing what all of us are facing today. It may be that the devil has and is using the tool of discouragement in our life. It may be that we feel defeated and a million miles away from the mountain top. But we need to be reminded one more time that God is God when we are on the mountain and that He is also still God when we are down in the valley. The secret to enjoying the mountains and the valleys is learning that God is in control. If we can do that, then whether we are on top or on bottom, we will always be on the mountain in our “heart” and victory will always be ours. If we can get there we'll be a hard nut for the devil to crack. The first step in arriving at that place is learning to bring our burdens to Jesus.

Many New Testament promises have corresponding verses in the Old Testament that reinforce their power. When Peter, for example, said, “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you." (1 Peter 5:7), he was just restating David's words in Psalm 55:22: "Give your burdens to the LORD, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall."

Do you have a burden too big to bear? Why not take a few moments to tell Jesus about it. Take your burden to the Lord, then leave it there by faith, casting all your concerns on Him, for He cares for you. After all, He is still God, even in the valley!