How to Live Between the Valley and the Mountain Top

We all have them, they are just too infrequent. Summer camp experiences where we sing “Pass It On” every night and get all emotional the last night, promising to God, our friends, and ourselves to never do the things that we used to do a week ago before we came to camp. But then comes Monday. We are back to reality, down from the euphoria and back to the inertia. We repeat the process as grownups. They are called vacations. We plan and wait with great anticipation, and the next thing we know, the week is over.

Every year, my wife and I spend a couple of weeks in the mountains of western North Carolina. We especially like the fact, that due to the 3600-foot elevation, the temperature is always about 15° cooler than that of our South Carolina Midlands home. We go to relax, read, watch TV, and hike. But it always ends too soon.

Summer camps and summer vacations – “mountain top experiences.” We visit the mountaintop, yet we live in the valley. The mountaintop is the place we long to live; the valley is the place we actually live. The mountaintop is the idealistic utopia we dreamed of in our childhood. The place where we would reside in gingerbread houses with white picket fences, alongside our lifetime mates; a place where Tammy Wynette would never have a hit single titled D-I-V-O-R-C-E; a place where we would all be either astronauts or firemen; a place like Mayberry where the sheriff doesn’t carry a gun because he doesn’t need one. It was to be a place where all our children would have high IQs, be socially well-adjusted, and choose careers that inspire and motivate them, just like the ones we had planned for ourselves. It would be a place where the worst sickness would be the common cold, leaving no need for oncology doctors.

We get the phrase “mountaintop experience” from the Bible. In the Old Covenant, Moses met God on a mountain – Mount Sinai. In the New Covenant, Jesus led Peter, James, and John to a mountain” where  Jesus was transfigured into a being that displayed His divinity and pre-incarnation state: “His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light (Mt 17:2).” Elijah and Moses even showed up. Peter did what we all want to do with our mountaintop experiences; keep them going indefinitely. “Lord, it is good that we are here. If you wish, I will make three tents here, one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah,” said Peter (Mt 17:4).

Peter might have thought it was a good idea to set up housekeeping on the mountaintop, but not Jesus. Jesus’ incarnation brought God from the mountain top to where we live – the valley. He was given the name Immanuel, which means “God is with us.” It was a brief mountain experience for Jesus and His companions, but as quickly as it started, it was over. Jesus took His disciples down the mountain, back to the real world of disease, heartache, disappointment, broken relationships, and oncology doctors.

We live life in the valley. If we didn’t, we wouldn’t know what the mountaintop is like. Perhaps Jesus allowed His friends to have this mountain-top experience so that they wouldn’t give up when things got tough in the valley. Could He be doing the same with us?

Helen Keller, someone who certainly knew about the obstacles of valley living, summed up mountaintop experiences this way: “The marvelous richness of human experience would lose something of rewarding joy if there were no limitations to overcome. The hilltop hour would not be half so wonderful if there were no dark valleys to traverse.”

I like the way “Purpose Driven Life” author Rick Warren describes this living between the mountains and the lowlands: “Rather than life being hills and valleys, I believe that it’s kind of like two rails on a railroad track, and at all times you have something good and something bad in your life. No matter how good things are in your life, there is always something bad that needs to be worked on. And no matter how bad things are in your life, there is always something good you can thank God for.”

Perhaps you’ve been struggling this week with disappointment, a heartache, a bad report from the doctor, or the loss of a loved one. Be encouraged as you walk through this valley. Immanuel is with you. His presence is around you and lives in you. He goes ahead of you. He protects you. Feel the gentle nudge of Jesus’ staff guiding you along the valley path. Get a good mental image of His rod, with which He stands ready to crush all that may seek to destroy you. Run into His strong tower and be protected. God’s Word tells us we have a High Priest in Jesus Christ who has been through the valley we live in; “He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all … (Heb 4:14-16).”

Jesus took his disciples to the mountaintop then back into the valley, but he promised them there was something better coming. He promises us the same. Jesus will meet you in the valley and walk every step with you, and He will take you to the mountaintop … and far beyond.