EXODUS 15:21-22: And Miriam answered them: “Sing to the Lord, for He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!” So Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea; then they went out into the Wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water.
Mountaintops are great places. As you stand on some lofty peak it seems as if you can see forever. But most people don’t live on mountains. The demands of reality require that life is generally lived in the valleys.
The Israelites had just come through one of the high points of their nation’s history–a mountaintop experience. Pursued by Pharaoh’s army, they crossed the Red Sea with dry sandals and then saw the waters rush together again upon their enemy’s horses and chariots. With tremendous joy, they sang God’s praise.
Then they hit the valley–from the fresh air of the mountaintop to the dry, oppressive air of the wilderness. For three days they traveled without finding water. Compared to the mountaintops, the valleys are real spiritual challenges.
But that’s the way real life is. Spiritual mountaintops are wonderful. You feel particularly close to God during your devotional time; you return from a weekend retreat knowing the living Lord has met with you in a special way; you come home from church after the pastor’s sermon has met a deep spiritual need in your life. You revel in the warmth of these marvelous mountaintop experiences. But that’s not where you live. You live in the valley, where there are dirty dishes to wash, lawns to mow and children to raise. Often real life isn’t much fun.
Fortunately, Israel discovered, as will you, that God is with you both on the mountain and in the valley. He never leaves you, never allows you out of His loving care.
We all appreciate those times when we encounter God in a special way, but we know that God is also with us when we sink to spiritual lows and feel a little dry. The God you meet in the good times is the same God who meets you in the hard times.