God is God not just of your mountaintop experiences he's the God of the valleys too valleys are
a symbol of difficult times in your life in the bible and God says I'm not just the God
of the mountaintops the peak experiences in your life I am the God of the valleys
in the times of darkness the times of despair the times of defeat the times of discouragement
because the truth is most of your life in my life are not lived on the mountaintops
when you're in a mountaintop experience the it's the view is great
but mountain peaks are far and few most of the time you live your life uh in the valleys
I don't know what kind of valley you're going through right now it may be a financial valley
you're going in a real tough spot maybe you're in a relational valley maybe you're going through a
physical illness in a valley of of disease or or sickness
even in our darkest days God says I'm there and I'm there with you but I've come to learn that
he is the God of the mountain but he is the God of the valley I've learned that valleys are necessary
and I've learned that God does a great work in me that he can only do in the valley I want to
remind someone today that there is no fruit on the mountaintop there is only fruit in the valley
I've learned that God wants to do something great through me so he must first do something very deep
in me and he can only do that in the valley the valley is the stretching place the valley
is the place that when you're in it you think it's warfare the truth is you can't reach your
destiny without going through valleys the valleys are strategic when you're on top of a mountain
the only way to go higher is to come down that mountain go through the valley then you can go up
a bigger mountain God allows valleys not to hold us back but because he's taken us higher without
the valleys we would get stuck are you discouraged over what God is going to use to take you to a new
level frustrated thinking the valley is permanent have a new perspective the valley is not there to
stop you it's there to promote you and what you're up against may be bigger you feel outnumbered
you don't have the resources on your own you can't get out the good news is you're
not on your own the most high God is right there with you he knows how to turn that battlefield
into a blessing field that valley of trouble into a gateway of victory I will take a valley with
Jesus over a mountaintop without him because as long as I have Jesus I have possibilities
I have a future I have a promise give me Jesus in any situation I'll take that God's with you
in the valley and you may not feel it you may not be able to clap for that yet you may you may be
saying amen but in your heart you're going I don't feel it that's okay we don't live by feelings
and when I cannot trace his hand I can trust his heart God's doing something in me right now
I don't see it all yet but I do know I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of
the living I do know God is doing something great right now and I I can't really sense
it I can't really see it I can't really feel it quite frankly it took every ounce of faith
just to get here this morning but I do believe that God is still doing a work in my life and
maybe you feel today like Jabin I just feel like all of hell is against me I just feel like
I am coming up literally against the gates of hell never forget this God is with you in the valley
God is with you in the valley I don't know what valley you're going through
but the antidote is Psalm 73:28 as for me God's presence is all I need I've made the sovereign
Lord my shelter if God is the sovereign Lord of your life he is your shelter I don't know
anything else as for me God's presence is all I need and you may feel like I'm stuck I'm I'm
I'm addicted I'm I'm I'm you know imprisoned I I can't break free from this relationship
I can't break free from this addiction I can't break free from this habit and I am
stuck I've been running I slipped I fall and now I'm stuck it doesn't matter where you've
gotten stuck or how you've gotten stuck or what pit you're in Jesus can get you out
he can get you out of that pit some of you are in the depth of the darkest valley have no doubt
about that regardless of the type of valley it's not going to last there is a way out and you
have a shepherd when we're in the valley it's easy to get discouraged and think it's never
going to improve but the scripture says in Hosea God will transform the valley of trouble
into a gateway of hope you may be in a valley of trouble a valley of loneliness a valley of debt
you don't see any way out it looks permanent God is saying I'm about to transform that valley into
a gateway of hope a gateway of increase a gateway of favor the valley is leading you to new levels
to better relationships to greater influence it's not a coincidence that David wrote in Psalm 23
though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death he didn't say though I stay in the valley
though I live in the valley no the valley is not your home the valley is temporary
you're just passing through the valley it's just a matter of time before it's turned into a gateway
a gateway of favor a gateway of healing now don't let the valley become permanent in your thinking
instead of complaining about the valley being discouraged over what you're going through all
through the day father thank you that this valley is only temporary I believe what you promised
that you're about to transform it into a gateway of hope a gateway of blessing a gateway of victory
that valley is leading you to the awesome future God has in store valleys happen
to everybody okay they're a part of life they're in other words they're they're inevitable they're
part of normal life you can't avoid them they're going to happen you can count on them you either
just came out of a valley or you're in the middle one right now or you're headed into another one
because that's what life is all about so don't be shocked don't be surprised
you're going to go through valleys in your lifetime you're not always on the mountaintop
the only question is not if you're going to go through valley it's just when
when and you're going to experience disappointment in life you're going to experience defeat you're
going to experience distractions and disturbances and despair and depression it's a normal part
of life valleys are part of life remember that God has a good purpose for my valley
remember that God has a good purpose for my valley God is a good God God cannot do evil
it's impossible for God to do evil God don't only do good in your life God has good plans
for your life and so I remember that even in the problems I'm going through the valleys I'm going
through the valley of conflict or grief or fear or failure or whatever God is building character
when you're going through that valley and that character is going to outlast everything else
I thank you God I thank you God that you are not just the God of the mountains
you're the God of the valleys you're the God of my valleys