April 7

GOD OF THE VALLEYS
by Ray Prinzing

"Who passing through the valley of Baca (weeping) make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.  They go from strength to strength, ever one of them in Zion appeareth before God."                                                                                                   (Psalm 84:6-7).

We would go up to Mount Zion, we would stand on His holy hill, and yet, paradoxical as it may seem, oftentimes we discover that the "way up is down," and through all the humbling process there will come an hour when He shall lift us up, and we shall live in His sight.  Yet there are those who, beholding the pilgrims who are presently having a "mountain top" experience, while they seem to be floundering down in a valley, who develop the same kind of thinking as the Syrians, who felt that Israel's God was only good for the mountains.  But precious words of encouragement were given to the king of Israel, "Thus saith the Lord, Because the Syrians have said, The Lord is God of the hills, but He is not God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all the great multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that I am the Lord."  (1 Kings 20:28). Truly our God is God both of the mountains and the valleys.

There are valleys which our path must not bypass, for there are rich lessons to be learned within the confines, and there are rare flowers of Christian graces which only grow in the deepest shadows of these valleys.  But one thing must always be kept in mind, be it high on a summit, where we view the glory that  spreads over the horizon, or deep in the valley where we finally become submitted to its "hemmed in" and shadowy corner, neither place is meant for our eternal dwelling, we are going ONWARD, upward and downward, but every onward, until at last we appear before God in Zion.

We'll go down by the way of the valley,
Just so long as His Presence is there,
Though the path may be shaded and lonely,
He has promised each burden to bear.

We'll go on by the way that He chooseth,
Makes no diff'rence the hill or the plain,
There are rivers of water refreshing,
And His mercy our path will sustain.