The Challenge 7 April, 2004

Well, I'm back in the USA! All I can say is that Europe is not all it is cracked up to be. Of course, it is cool to go to some places but Europe in general to me at least is not one of my favorite places. Everyone smokes. There are VERY few non-smoking places and to tell the truth there was just not a lot of time to do anything but go to the meetings we had to go to. I did get to go to the Dachu concentration camp, to a monastery where they brewed one of my friends favorite beers, and got to see Stonehenge. Not many people get to do that so I am blessed but glad to be back in the US of A! Oh, and actually my favorite thing was that I got to drive on the autobahn at over 130mph in a Mercedes E class car. Now that was FUN! Lastly, I have to let you know that my wife had obviously had a very MAJOR impact on my life because before I met her I did not even know what musical theatre was and now when I'm in London with nothing to do, I end up getting tickets to see a show even when I'm there all by myself... yes men - I'm sick (Just Kidding - it was fun)... Saw Lion King by myself on the Strand in London. But would have never done that even 5 years ago... I did ask several others who were there that I knew if they wanted to go with me and they declined so that they could go drink in a pub and walk around London... so I went by myself. I think my wife is proud of me!

Valleys

So, I was listening to a sermon a few weeks ago at one of our youth events where the pastor mentioned a story about a hiking trip he went on. He and his wife got stuck above the tree line on the top of a mountain. The bottom line of the story was about making a point about "mountain-top" experiences and then returning to "valleys". Many of us have heard these types of analogies and illustrations before... about how we love our "mountain-top" experiences and how we want to stay up there forever.

"Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." Matthew 17:1-4

Just like Peter we get up on one of these "mountain-tops" and we have this great meeting with God and we wish it would never end. We want to stay there, build our homes there and never go back to the world we live in.

"But Jesus came and touched them and said, "Arise, and do not be afraid." When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. Now as they came down from the mountain," Matthew 17:7-9a

Again, just like Peter we have to come back down from the mountain back into the valley. Back to where we really live on a day-to-day basis. Our "mountain-tops" are retreats, conferences, great prayer sessions, awesome church services, and a myriad of other things you can come up with - they are in essence spiritual highs for each of us. They are the times when we believe we have connected with God directly in a most real sense that we can imagine and we just want to stay there! But just like Peter, Jesus always sends us back down to the valley. He sends us back into the real world where we need to live everyday. He sends us back to real life. Why shouldn't we stay up there with God? Isn't it good to stay with God on the top of the mountain?

The shocking answer is No! It is not good for us to stay up on the "mountain-top" with God. In fact we absolutely must go back down our spiritual "mountain-tops" and get back into the valley. God actually forces us down the slope back into the valley. But why?

Well, it goes back to this sermon that I heard a few weeks ago that really highlighted it for me. Take a look at this picture on the left. If you look closely you'll see that the top of the mountain looks like a big rock. You'll see some trees in the foreground and then at some point the trees stop. This is called the tree line and the truth is that nothing grows above the tree line. Tops of mountains are bare peeks. There is no life there.

In contrast look at this picture of a valley looking at the mountain in the background. The Valley is lush and green. The top of the mountain is barren and rocky and has no trees. The valley has lots of trees and grass and plants. The top of the mountain has no growth on it. The valley is rampant with growth. On the top of the mountain there is no life... in the valley there is life. Lots and lots of life!!!!!

"I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." John 10:10b

"For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren." Romans 8:29

We have been put here on earth at this time & in this place to learn what we need to learn and have the experiences that God has ordained for each of us to have and to live life so that we can do one thing... be conformed to the image of His Son! The bottom line is that we are here to GROW. We can not grow on the top of the mountain. Oh we can meet God there and we can have a great time connecting with him. But we can not sustain growth up on top of the mountain. We would quickly die up there so you must come down into the valley of life so that you can really grow.

One more point and I'll let you all go for the day... Why is it that we grow in the valley's of life?

"Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." John 14:6

We noticed that life resides in the valley. Jesus said that He is Life! Jesus also describes himself as living water and there are many places in the bible where God talks about a river of life. Why are valleys so lush and full of life? Because that is where the water is - the life giving water. Jesus is life and Jesus is living water. We must live in the Valley because that is exactly where Jesus is. He spent His time on earth giving life to His children by living with each of us in the valleys of our lives.

Are you growing? Are you living in a valley right now? What are you learning? Are you growing through the current valley of your life? Do you think you are at the lowest possible point in your life? You've bottomed out in the valley you are in? Look at this one last picture. Are you the tree in the bottom of the valley in a dried up river bed? There is no water to be seen and the valley you are in is not lush and green? Are you that tree in the picture to the right? The good news is that although the surrounding land looks bleak and barren is that the leaves are still green! The tree is still growing! How come? Because there is living water there! You can't see it but below the surface of the barren land is an underground stream that feeds this tree so it can grow. The tree has a root system that goes deep enough to reach the living water. Are you trying to live through only your mountain top experiences or are you GROWING through your valley experiences? Where are your roots? Are they reaching for the living water which resides in the Valleys of life!

You may think that the only place in this life that you can connect with God is in those mountain-top experiences. But that is not true. Life and Growth comes from the living water of Christ and over and over again we find that our growth is found in the valley - right where the living water is!

Are you growing?

Until next week ~ Dave

To make comments, to suggest topics you'd like me to tackle, to get past devotionals, or to be added to this weekly "devotional email" please write to: Dave Hansen at philip419@earthlink.net