We all have ups and downs in our lives. Many times we ask God why certain things happen, or why other things do not occur. When we look back at our lives we typically see a series of experiences that form peaks and valleys that created the person that we are today. When we are on peaks of our lives, we have nothing but praise for God and we rejoice in His blessings. However when we are in a valley, we act as if God has forsaken us and that we are alone. In those times, our suffering is all that consumes our days and is the only real factor in our lives.

These valleys can be brought on by many things. Maybe we are seeking a job, yet we never seem to find one. Maybe we are grieving the tragic loss of a loved one. Maybe you are working harder in a ministry then you ever have, but accomplishing nothing. Maybe when you think of days like September 11th , or December 7th , you still ask God why things like that happen. Maybe we are seeking some wisdom, yet no knowledge comes. These and any number of other things can cause us to begin to yell out to God and wonder where He is and why He is not changing our state.

There are times when we may even begin to think that God is not involved. We pray and nothing happens. We study and nothing changes. We scream and there is no reply. We may even reach a point where we think God created us, but that He has no concern or contact with us again until we die. These thoughts and the ideas stem from our human nature to want results, and want them now and to want them our way. These are all selfish, self centered thoughts, but many times they are what is really in our mind. We may try to ignore them, but they are there, and we really need to learn how to deal with them.

If we do a quick study the Bible we will learn that our thoughts and opinions about God’s callousness are just not true. God is intimately involved in your life, your world, and your days. We are reminded in both Job 10 and Psalms 139 about how involved God is in our creation and how He is involved in every action of every day of our lives.

The love and beauty that He lavishes on His is amazing. He knows and cares about each hair on our head. He knows the days of our lives before we are born. His promises are true, right and just, but we have to trust Him enough to lean on Him in the bad times to discover the incredible blessings He has for us when we leave the valley of our sorrows behind.

Many times, if we look at our selfish thoughts and opinions we can find a few similar threads at the core. We are looking at things from our perspective and that perspective is short term, and flawed. First, our perspective is short term. We only know what has happened to us up until that point in our lives. We have no idea about the future, and we have no idea what is holds. Our lives are short when compared with the infinity of the heaven and when compared to the view of a timeless God, yet we let our short term views color our eternal perspective and opinions on God. In addition, many times when we are suffering we forget to look at the trying times that have come earlier in our lives and remember how God helped us through them. We allow the current situation to completely color our view of God and to overshadow our past experiences and successes.

Secondly, our view is flawed because of one central human issue, sin. We are selfish. We want it our way in our time. We want no pain, no suffering and no correction. These however are the very things that teach us the lessons that make us better servants and followers of Christ. We love the fact that we are heirs to heaven when the blessings are poured out, but when the cost of being a heir is painful we want no part of it. In Matthew 5, Jesus tells his followers, and us, that God sends the sun to shine on the just and unjust, as well as sending rain into the lives of both, then Jesus continues and tells us that we should love our enemies. Jesus is telling us that we should expect bad times and that when they come we are to still remain like Him, followers of God and dedicated to His will and way. A valley in our lives should not be seen as a surprise, in fact it should be expected. The key is to come out of the trial stronger and better prepared for the next one, because new trails will come.

God never promised us a life free from low’s. In fact, God promises us that our lives will be full of trails, tests and stresses. However, He also promises us that He will never leave us nor forsake us, that He will remain nearer to us then a brother or sister, and that He will protect us from destruction. These are all the promises that are needed for our survival. The valley’s we experience also make us appreciate the peaks we reach, for we know the suffering that lead to the success, we know the pain that led to the praise, and we know the price that lead to our pleasure .

Weather you are currently suffering in a valley or resting on a mountain peak, God is there and He is working to prepare you for the next step in your life and the next trail and the next success. Trust in Him, He is the good shepard and those in Him will never want for their true needs.