Our lives are a mixture of a ‘mountain experience’ and a ‘valley experience’.
The mountain experience is that of peace, happiness, prosperity and a feeling of completeness. The valley experience is that when things don’t seem going right in our lives, when failures and losses befall us, when we are fallen and forsaken, misunderstood and betrayed by others, when grief overwhelms us and life seems at its edge .
When you find it hard to trust God in the dark moments of your life, think of little chickens under the wings of a hen. There is darkness under its wings, the little chicks cannot see anything, yet they feel the warm and reassuring protection of their mother.
The Psalmist figuratively describes God’s protection. “The Lord will cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.” (Psalm 91:4)
Decades ago, the English steamer Stella was wrecked on a rocky coast. Twelve women were put on a lifeboat. But with no oars and a harsh storm at sea, the life boat was tossed into the boisterous sea. One of the women in the boat was Margaret Williams, well known for her sacred singing. She began praying and gave courage to her companions by singing songs of comfort to them all through the night.
When morning broke, a rescue boat waded through the fog and came close to them. The rescue team would have missed the boat in the fog if they had not heard the voice of Margaret Williams. Surprisingly, the song she was singing that drew the rescue team close was a selection from Elijah “Oh rest in the Lord, wait patiently for Him!”
Saint Augustine’s trusted in God’s ever abiding presence in his life saying: “Trust the past to the mercy of God, the present to His love and the future to His providence.”
Singer Lynda Randle scripted and sang a very inspiring hymn which reads: “Life is easy, when you’re up on the mountain; and you’ve got peace of mind, like you’ve never known; but things change, when you’re down in the valley; Don’t lose faith, for your never alone.
For the God on the mountain, is still God in the valley;
When things go wrong, he'll make them right; And the God of the good times, is still God in the bad times; The God of the day, is still God in the night; We talk of faith way up on the mountain, But talk comes easy, when life’s at its best; Now it’s down in the valleys, trials and temptations.
That’s where your faith is really put to the test”.The purest gold is that which has passed through the hottest furnace, the best wool come from sheep in the coldest region of the world and God chooses his best soldiers from the highlands of affliction. So hold on to God on the mountain and God in the valley.
