The God of My Valleys - Part 1

[MUSIC] Hello everybody, this is Pastor Rick's Daily Hope with Rick Warren. I'm really glad you're here. Today we're continuing our series from Psalm 23 called Living in the Goodness of God. It's all about how God's goodness meets you right where you are and brings hope even in difficult seasons. Up next, here's part one of a message called The God of My Valleys. There's an old Arab proverb that says, "All sunshine and no rain makes a desert." Life is a mixture of good times and bad times, ups and downs, highs and lows, mountains and valleys. And today I want us to look at the theme of the God of My Valleys, the God of My Valleys. Even in our darkest days, God says, "I'm there and I'm there with you." Now, we've been memorizing Psalm 23 and we're down to verse 4 now. So let's read it together and with great enthusiasm, you've probably got a lot of it memorized now. If you say a "their" or that because you memorize it in King James, that's perfectly fine. All right, let's say together, "The Lord is my shepherd. I have everything that I need." He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leaves me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leaves me in the right path for his name's sake. And even when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me. Very good class. You all get an A and you all get a cookie. Now, this phrase, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, there's actually a canyon in Israel called the valley of the shadow of death. I'm sure David had been through it many, many times. Some of these canyons were very narrow at the bottom and could be 800 feet tall. And so when you're looking up on either side, the only time you'd get the sun is actually at noon day. And so in the middle of the day, you could be in the bottom of this canyon and not see the sun because the walls were so tall and then this canyon was so narrow, the sun only shines when it's right overhead. And it would be in shadows most of the day. Yay, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me. Now, that word valley got me to think in this week about the god of my valleys. You know about 2,900 years ago, there was a king in Israel. His name was Ahab. And the Syrian army decided they were going to depose Ahab. And so the king of Syria lined up 32 nations to come against Israel. And they came against Israel. And god miraculously gave Israel a victory and soundly defeated the king of Syria and his 32 allies, the kings of allies. Well, the following year, the Syrian decided they were going to try it again. And they were going to come back and try to take over Israel. But in reviewing the previous battle from a year earlier, all of the Syrian generals came up with a different plan. And up here on the screen, here's what it says. First Kings tells us chapter 20. The Syrian military advisors went to their king and they explained, Israel's gods are the gods of the hills. And the last time we fought them a year ago when they lost, we fought them in the hills. And that's why they defeated us. This was their rationale. But if we fight them in the valleys where they are weak, we will defeat them there. And so they changed plans made a few other strategic things that, instead of fighting the Israelites up in the hills, country, we're going to fight them on flat ground where we can easily outnumber them. They're gods. Protect them in the hills. But we'll beat them in the valleys. So they just are battle plan and they bring a huge army back to Israel. In fact, the Bible says this, the Syrian forces covered the whole countryside. But the Israelites looked like two little flocks of goats. This is a very imbalanced. There are maybe 100,000 troops coming against Israel. Israel has it the most 7,000. So it's going to be a slaughter. It's going to be a slaughter. But that's not the end of the story. Then, defeat looks inevitable. But God has something to say about this. And first Kings chapter 20 verse 28 says this, "Because the Syrians," God says this, "because the Syrians think that I'm only the God of the hills and not the God of the valleys, I'm going to give you victory over this huge army so everyone will know that I am the Lord." Now, I can summarize everything we're going to look at today in this sense. God is God, not just of your mountaintop experiences. He's the God of the valleys too. God says, "I am the God of the valleys." I'm not just the God of the good times in your life. I'm not just the God of the happy times in your life. I'm not just the God when everything's going smooth. I'm the God of the valleys too. Now, the valley in Scripture literally means a valley. But it's also a metaphor for difficult times. The Bible talks about the valley of troubles. That's a core. The Bible talks about the valley of leaping. There's all kinds of metaphors. Valleys resemble a difficult times in your life in the Bible. And God says, "I'm not just the God of the mountain tops. The peak experiences in your life. I am the God of the valleys in the times of darkness, the times of despair, the times of defeat, the times of discouragement." Because the truth is most of your life in my life are not lived on the mountain tops. When you're in a mountain top experience, the view is great. They give you a great view, but mountain peaks are far and few. Most of the time you live your life in the valleys. You and I got to think about this today. I've spent most of my life geographically living in valleys. I was born in the Silicon Valley. I was born in San Jose and I grew up in the Silicon Valley. Then my dad moved our family to the Willamette Valley in Oregon. We lived there. Then we moved from the Willamette Valley back to Mill Valley where we lived in Mill Valley in Northern California. From there we moved to a little tiny village in the Redwoods called Redwood Valley, 500 people in this little town. I lived grew up in Redwood Valley. Then for the last 37 years I've been in the Saddleback Valley. I've been in the valley my entire life when I think about it. Very few times have I actually been on the mountain tops. Now what I want us to do this weekend are three things. Look at what the Bible says about what we know about valleys, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow death. I will fear no evil. For you're with me. What do we know about valleys? Then I want us to look at what kind of valleys to expect. Then finally I want us to look at what do you need to remember. I don't know what kind of valley you're going to right now. Maybe a financial valley. You're going in a real tough spot. Maybe you're in a relational valley. Maybe you're going to a physical illness and a valley of disease or sickness. Whatever kind of valley you're going through you're going to need this message. So if ever you need it to take notes it's this weekend. Let's look at this first. Let's talk about what do we know about valleys? The Bible tells us a lot and of course experience tells us a lot. You might run right these two or three things down. First we know that valleys are a part of life. They're a part of life. In other words they're inevitable. They're a part of normal life. You can't avoid them. They're going to happen. You can count on them. You either just came out of a valley or you're in the middle one right now or you're headed into another one. Because that's what life is all about. So don't be shocked. Don't be surprised. You're going to go through valleys in your lifetime. You're not always on the mountaintop. The only question is not if you're going to go through a valley it's just when? When? And you're going to experience disappointment in life. You're going to experience defeat. You're going to experience distractions and disturbances and despair and depression. It's a normal part of life. Valleys are a part of life. And God's plan for your life actually contains both hills and valleys. They're part of the plan. Look at these scriptures. Deuteronomy 11-11. The promised land, God says to those who are about to get it. The promised land you're about to enter is a land of hills and valleys. Now what does this mean? Well metaphorically what it means is that even when you're in the center of God's will, valleys are part of the plan. You can be in the promised land and it's not all mountaintop. When you go through the valleys of life, that's part of God's plan for your life. And the promised land includes hills and valleys. First Peter 412 says this, "Don't be surprised when you are tested by troubles or painful suffering as if something unusual has happened to you. Don't be surprised." They're a part of life. They are inevitable. All right, he says it's gonna happen. So you don't say, why me? You say, why not me? I'm alive. You have problems in your life, not because you're bad human. You have problems in your life because you're human. Even the promised land has hills and valleys. Don't be surprised by troubles as if something unusual is happening to you. Second thing we know is that valleys happen to everybody. valleys happen to everybody. There's no way you can avoid them. They're an evil role, but not only they're inevitable, they're impartial. Good things happen to bad people and bad things happen to good people. valleys are impartial. Psalm 34 verse 19 says this, the good man does not escape all troubles. He has them too. But the Lord helps him in each and every one. A lot of people think, I got problems in my life, God's punishing me. No, God's not punishing me. This is part of being part of the human race. You're in a world that is broken and is fallen. So we have problems. Nobody's immune, nobody's insulated from pain. Nobody is isolated from sorrow. We all go through life with problems. Nobody sails through life, problem free. This is not news to you. Bad things do happen in life. And being a Christian, being a follower of Jesus does not exempt you. valleys are part of life and valleys happen to everyone. In fact, Jesus said in Matthew 5.45, the rain falls on the just and the unjust. Everybody goes through the exact same things in life. Not only are valleys inevitable and impartial. Number three, valleys are unpredictable. And that's part of what makes them a problem, as you can't predict them. You can't plan them, you can't time them. You, problems typically catch you off guard. They come unexpectedly. In fact, your valleys and your problems come usually at the worst time. When you don't have time, when you're unprepared, when you're inconvenient, wouldn't it be easier if you could schedule all your valleys in life? I'm caught up on my sleep, on my health is good. Nobody's bugging me. Okay, now I'll take a problem more. It doesn't happen like that. They're inevitable, they're impartial and they are unpredictable. Have you ever noticed how quickly a good day can become a bad day? One phone call. One phone call. Disasters come quickly. Tragedy comes quickly. Accidents come quickly. None of us know what's gonna happen this evening, much less tomorrow or the next day or the next day. After that, in an instant, everything can change. You can have somebody make a decision. You had nothing to do with it. And all of a sudden your life's thrown upside down. Somebody up in corporate made a decision. Proverbs 27 verse 1 says this. Don't ever brag about tomorrow since you don't know what the day will bring forth. Okay, so problems are inevitable. And valleys are impartial and valleys are unpredictable. Now, I wanna go a little bit deeper before we look at the solution and prepare you even though they're unpredictable. There are some valleys I can guarantee you. You're gonna go through in life. And they're all in scripture. The Bible is filled with significant valleys. And I just picked three or four of them just to show you that if you study scripture, you're gonna be aware and then you'll be prepared for the inevitable valleys that come into your life. Do you know what's gonna happen to you next year? No, but can you guess what will probably happen to you during your lifetime? Yes. Because they're predictable in the sense that we know what to expect. So let me just give you a couple of them. Let me give you four different significant valleys in scripture. Number one is the valley of Siddham. The valley of Siddham. Now the valley of Siddham is actually in Genesis chapter 14. And this is, if you like war stories, this is a tremendous chapter. Genesis 14, how many of you either saw the movie or read the book, Lord of the Rings? Okay. You know that the big climactic battle is called the Battle of the Five Armies, right? Okay, it's a big app. Big epic battle, the Battle of the Five Armies. The battle in Genesis 14 is far bigger than that because it's the Battle of Nine Armies. Nine Armies coming against each other. And here's the story. There are four enemy nations outside of Palestine that are going to try to overtake. This is even before Israel's become a nation. Four enemies outside is going to try to take over five tribes inside. So it's five armies fighting for their life and their freedom against four armies coming from the outside who happen to be bigger. And the story goes like this. Look up here on the screen. Then the four kings of Shainar, by the way, Shainar is now called Babylon. It wasn't called this back in those days. But the king of Babylon, the king of Elisar, Elam and Golem, go him. These four kings went to war against the five kings of Sodom. You've heard of that one. Gamora, you heard of that one. And three other cities. Now, the five kings joined forces in the Valley of Siddom. This is the first valley that I want you to understand. You're going to go through the valleys of Siddom. The valley of Siddom, which is now the Dead Sea. So it got wiped out. Remember, fire and brimstone came wiped out Sodom and Gamora? It's now called the Dead Sea. The five kings joined forces there in the Valley of Siddom, which is now the Dead Sea. For 12 years, they'd been oppressed by other kingdoms. So in the 13th year, they rebelled. And then it says, but in the 14th year, their oppressors recruited his allies to team up and reconquer the land. So they, after being oppressed for 12 years, that we're not paying any more taxes for, get you guys. And so now, the guys, yeah, you are going to pay taxes. And these four armies come against five armies. So the nine armies fought in the Valley of Siddom. Now, what happens here next is why it's important to you. In verse 10, it says this. Now, this valley was full of sticky tarpets. And when the kings of Sodom and Gamora tried to run away from the battle, they slipped and they fell. And they got stuck in the pits. So the two kings of these cities are stuck in these tarpets. So the invaders plundered the cities of Sodom and Gamora. And they took everything they had. And they also captured Abraham's nephew, Lot, who was living in Sodom. Now, I'm not going to go into this part of the story, but Abraham later goes back. He goes to Oregon, sees guys, freezes nephew, and gets the cities all their loot back. But the point I want you to understand here is that it says, they slipped and fell in the tar pits. In the tar pits. What are they talking about there? Well, this kind of betumen in the area. And they got stuck. Now, how do you end up in this kind of valley? What is this kind of valley, a valley of Sodom? Well, you do what these kings did. They ran away from something. And while they were running away, they slipped. And when they slipped, they fell. And when they fell, they got stuck. Has that process ever happened to you in life? Yes. When you run away from something, maybe a responsibility. And then you slip, and then you fall, and then you get stuck. And this valley is a slimy, dark tar pit area where you stumble falls. I want you to write this down. Sodom is the valley of failure. You're going to go through this in your life. You're going to have failures in your life. You're going to have failures where you run from responsibility, where you try to get away from it. I don't know what it is. You slip, you fall, and you get stuck. Question, what's your siddham today? What are you running from? And you know you need to face it, of that conflict, that confrontation, you're running from, and what's your dark, slimy, tar pit? Some people that might be a bar. For some people, it might be a nightclub. For some people, it might be a hotel room when they're traveling. You know, Sodom and Gomorrah weren't exactly family-friendly cities. They were known as SIN cities. But I will tell you this. It doesn't matter where you've gotten stuck, or how you've gotten stuck, or what pit you're in. Jesus can get you out. What a special message from Pastor Rick. And now let's hear how lives are changing through daily hope. Here's Rick with a letter from one of our listeners. Today I want to introduce you to Agatha, who's translating daily hope in the German for her husband. She writes, "Pastor Rick, your preaching is bringing many souls to God. My husband, who is an unbeliever, is drawing closer and closer to God. Every day I translate what I hear in daily hope in the German, because. Because he can't speak and understand English. Pastor Rick, your teaching has changed his life. And I can see his progress and eagerness to follow Jesus. Agatha. Well, Agatha, thank you so much for sharing your story with me. This is a wonderful story to hear that you're translating what you hear on Daily Hope for your husband, and that he's growing closer to Jesus. I'm so happy for that. We're always looking for translators to help us in new languages as we take the message of God to more people around the world. So you will keep praying for your husband and you keep praying for us that God allows us to take the good news of God's hope all around the world. Hey, if you'd like to let Rick know how this broadcast has blessed you, he would love it. Please feel free to send him an email at [email protected]. That's [email protected]. Be sure to join us next time as we look into God's word for our Daily Hope. This program is sponsored by Pastor Rick's Daily Hope and your generous financial support.