We all go through valleys. We all are invited to climb the mountains....

Recently I took to going for a jog in the mornings.

I had let myself get into a routine involving very little exercise, and there came a day when it just had to change. But, as expected, I was somewhat out of shape as I began.

On the route I like to take, there is a hill. And it is amazing how many times I stand at the bottom of that hill and think to myself “Not today”. My legs seem to yell at me “You’ve got to be kidding! That? Again? You can do it, but you’ll be doing it without us!”. At the bottom, it’s easy to look up, and be put off by how far from the top I am.

The thought of the climb, how far I am from the top, the pain that I know will shoot through my legs, they are all very compelling reasons to not do it. And then there is the fact this particular hill comes in 2 stages. About half way up, as the pain has kicked in, it goes flat for 10 meters. It’s here that there is a path you can take that leads around and down another side of the hill. When you’re half way up and more exhausted than when you started, that path looks pretty inviting.

Or, you can keep going.

It’s hard work. But you know, every time I get to the top of that hill, it is worth it. My perspective always changes. I get a view I didn’t get from the bottom. All of a sudden I can see the sun, the trees, the city, things I couldn’t see from the bottom. Also, I’m no longer looking up at how far away I am, but I’m looking down at how far I’ve come.

I was reminded of this again recently. I was driving up the Gillies Range early one morning. The range starts in the valley, you drive past streams of water that collect in the lowest points, before winding your way up some significant mountains. I do love to drive it in the morning because it is such an eye opening, awe inspiring setting, God’s creation really sings at you in those moments.

Well this particular morning I was getting pretty high up the mountain, and I wanted to pull over to take a picture. I remember looking out at these impressive mountains, towering high into the sky, looking down at the depths of the valley where the water was.

But as I looked back, it dawned on me. It wasn’t water. I know there are streams of water there, I know that is the lowest point of the valley, I’d already driven past it that morning. And now, from so high up the mountain, I was looking at the valley, thinking about how low it was. And then I realised, the “waters” in the low point of the valley, what I was actually looking at from the top of the mountain, was clouds. I was so high up, I looked down on clouds, and the clouds looked like they were water at the bottom of the valley.

Wow. The change in perspective really struck me.

In life, we all go through “valley” times. In Psalm 23 David describes himself as being in the “valley of the shadow of death”. Valleys are hard places to be. And when you are down the bottom, right in the depths, the mountains look unattainable. Too much work. Too much pain. Just too much.

David, as he depicts that valley, tells us an important thing about those places. We do not face them alone. He writes in verse 4…

“Even though I walk

through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil,

for You are with me…”

God is present in the valleys. He is with us.

He never intends us to stay in that place, either. Notice David is walking “through”. It will pass. God, present in the valleys, will invite him up the mountain top.

And with God, the mountains are always worth climbing. Though it may be hard, though it may be painful, though it may seem like too much, with Him, it is always worth it.

And with God, on the mountaintop, your perspective changes. Looking down, what we discover is that the valleys, those places that felt like the depths, like there was nowhere lower to go, God was not only present, but at work. And the work He was doing in those times is invaluable. Though we felt we were in the depths, the work He was doing in us was of such value that it’s equal to the highest of heights. We feel the depths, and He’s working something of eternal value.

So, right now, if you are in a valley, fear not. He is with you, and He will lead you through. If you are climbing and feeling like the work is just too hard, keep going, what He has for you at the top is always worth it. And if you are standing on the mountain with God, enjoy the view!