Sharing

God of the Mountain and the Valley (Part 2)

We have to remember and remind ourselves that God is with us all the time. He is the same as He was yesterday and the same as He always will be; He is present with us right now. Life is a sum of ups, downs, highs, and lows. I am so grateful to God that we have an opportunity to experience Him in every season and every phase of life that we go through. The average person will experience both mountains and valleys, so we must learn how to navigate and appropriate His principles in our life. We can begin to experience victory—even in the valleys.

             Anything that we go through in life should invite and involve God. We should acknowledge His presence because He is with us. When we receive Him into our lives, His presence is committed to us. Indeed, He says goodness and mercy will follow us all the days of our life. The valley is that place where life becomes very challenging. For example, we have all experienced the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of us have lost loved ones, jobs, or homes, and many other hurtful situations have occurred in which we wonder if God forgot about us.

            Some of us have been misunderstood, hurt, lied to, or mistreated. We have to know how to deal with the hurt to move on. Otherwise, hurt can distort our perception and affect our outlook on life. I have experienced hurts and disappointments. I was hurt when my parents decided to get a divorce. I have been broken when people I’ve hired decided to leave. I have lost loved ones who have gone on to be with the Lord. Amid hurt, God will meet us and be right there with us. We can’t fully enter adulthood and be mature if we childishly think that hurtful things will not occur. We must know how to employ the Word of God in these situations because we live in a fallen world; bad things happen and hurtful things will occur. There’s a devil loose, and there’s a humanity that we must deal with in our own lives and in the lives of other people.

            When hurt happens, face it with honesty and directness. Don’t deny it; don’t let it turn into anger or rage; don’t start feeling sorry for yourself. If you’re the one who has hurt someone, be quick to apologize. When you are hurt, learn to forgive. Forgiveness is a decision, not a feeling. Learn how to apologize and learn how to forgive. Jesus modeled this for us in so many ways in the last year of His life. Forgive people whether they change or not. If you can only forgive people when they have changed, you really don’t forgive. Here are some simple steps of freedom that can help you navigate the storms and valleys of life.

  1. Take up the shield of faith.
    Hold up that fiery shield of faith that quenches all the darts of the enemy. Allow God to fight your battles.
  2. If you have been hurt by someone, forgive them as an act of faith.
    Once you forgive someone, stop reliving the situation. Stop making excuses for why you’re so easily hurt; stop wearing your emotions on your sleeve; and stop trying to get even with people who have hurt you.
  3. Learn how to take communion and spend time in His presence.
    We become strong (even when we feel weak) in His presence because of His grace, which is sufficient for us.

Following these steps of freedom will help while we experience the valleys of hurt. Thank God that He is with us every step of the way. He is the God of the mountain, and He is the God of the valley.

Latest stories