Rick Warren - The God of My Valleys—Part One

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 twenty three 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.

You know, 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 twenty three and we're down

to verse four now, so let's read it together and

with great enthusiasm. You've probably got a lot of it memorized.

Now if you say it the year of Thou because

you rememberize in King James, that's perfectly fine. All right,

let's stay 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 eight hundred feet tall, and so when you're looking

up on either side, the only time you'd get the

sun is actually at noonday. 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 the canyon was so

narrow the sun only shines when it's right overhead, and

it would be in shadows most of the day. Yeay,

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 thinking

this week about the god of my valleys. You know,

about two nine hundred 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 thirty two 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 thirty two allies. The Kings of Allies. Well, the

following year, the Syria 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 twenty. 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

and 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.

Their gods protect them in the hills, but we'll beat

them in the valleys. So just their 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 may be one hundred thousand troops coming against Israel.

Israel has it the most seven thousand. 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.

In Onest Kings, chapter twenty, verse twenty eight 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 summarize everything we're gonna

look at today in this sentence. 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 a god when

everything's going smooth.

I'm the God of the valleys too.

Now, the valley in scripture literally means a valley, but

is also a metaphor for difficult times. The Bible talks

about the valley of troubles, that's acre. The Bible talks

about the valley of weeping. There's all kinds of metaphors.

Valleys are a symbol of difficult times in your life

in the Bible. And God says, I'm not just a

God of the mountaintops 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, my life are not lived.

On the mountaintops.

When you're in a mountaintop experience, the view is great, Okay,

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 know. And I got thinking

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 Santa s And

I grew up in the Silicon Valley. And then my

dad moved our family to the Willamette Valley up in

Oregon and we lived there. And then we moved from

the Milamet Valley back to Mill Valley, where we lived

in Mill Valley in northern California. And from there we

moved to a little tiny village in the red what's

called Redwood Valley, five hundred people in this little town,

and I lived grew up in Redwood Valley.

And then for the.

Last thirty seven years, I've been in the Saddleback Valley.

So I've been in the valley my entire life.

When I think about it, very few times have I

actually been on the mountaintops. Now, what I want us

to do this weekend at three things. Look at what

the Bible says about what we know about valleys. Even

though I walk through the valley of the Shadow of Death,

I will fear no evil, for you're with me. What

do we know about valleys? And then I want us

to look at what kind of valleys to expect. And

then finally I want us to look at what do

you need to remember? I don't know what kind of

value you're going through 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 through a physical illness

and a valley of disease or sickness. Whatever kind of

value going through, you're gonna need this message. If ever

you needed to take notes, it's this weekend. Okay, let's

look at this first. Let's talk about what do we

know about valleys? And 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. Okay, they're

a part of life. In other words, they're inevitable, they're

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 shot.

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 gonna experience defeat. You're going to experience

distractions and disturbances and despair and depression.

It's a normal part of life.

Valleys are 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 eleven eleven. The

promised land, God says to those who are going 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.

The Promised Land includes hills and valleys. One Peter four

to twelve 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 are a

part of life. They are inevitable, all right, he says,

it's going to 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 a 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 part of life. They're inevitable. But not only they' inevitable,

they're impartial. Good things happen to bad people, and bad

things happen to good people. Valleys are impartial. Psalm thirty four,

verse nineteen 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.

I got problems in my life. God's punishing me. Not

God's not punishing me. This is part of being part

of the human race. You're in a world that is

broken and has 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

followed Jesus does not exempt you. Valleys are part of life,

and valleys happen to everyone. In fact, Jesus said in

Matthew five point forty five, the rain falls on the

just and the unjust. Everybody goes through the exact same

things in life. Not only are our valleys inevitable and impartial.

Number three valleys are unpredictable, and that's part of what

makes them a problem is you can't predict them. You

can't plan, you can't time them. Problems typically catch you

off guard. They come unexpectedly. In fact, your values 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 values

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. Lord, it doesn't happen like that. They're un 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

going to 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 makes a decision.

You had nothing to do, and then all of a sudden,

your life's thrown upside down. Somebody up in corporate made

a decision. Proverbs twenty seven, verse one says this, don't

ever brag about tomorrow, since you don't know what the

day will bring.

Forth.

Okay, So problems are inevitable, valleys are impartial, and values

are unpredictable. Now I want to go a little bit

deeper before we look at the solution and prepare you.

Even though they're unpredictable, there are some values I can

guarantee you you're going to 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 going to be aware

and then you'll be prepared for the inevitable values that

come into your life. Do you know what's going to

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 Sidam, the Valley of Sidham. Now, the Valley

of Sidam is actually in Genesis chapter fourteen, and this

is if you like war stories, this is a tremendous

chapter Genesis fourteen. How many of you either saw the movie,

you read the book Lord of the Rinx. Okay, you

know that the big climactic battle is called the Battle

of the Five Armies. Right, it's a big, app big

epic battle, the Battle of the Five Armies. The battle

in Genesis fourteen is far bigger than that because it's

the battle of nine armies, nine armies coming against each other.

And here here's the story.

There are four enemy nations outside of Palestine. They're going

to try to overtake. This is even before Israel has

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 happened to be bigger. And

the story goes like this, look up here on the screen.

Then the four.

Kings of Shinar. By the way, Shinar is now called Babylon.

It wasn't called this back in those days. But the

king of Babylon, the King of Lsr Elamb and Golam Goem,

these four kings went to war against the five Kings

of Sodom. You've heard of that one Gomorah, You heard

of that one and three other cities. Now, the five

Kings joined forces in the Valley of Siddam. This is

the first valley that I want you to understand. You're

going to go through the valleys of Siddam, the Valley

of Sidham, which is now the Dead Sea. So it

got wiped out. Remember fire and Birmstone came wiped out,

Sodom and Gamor it's now called the Dead Sea. Okay,

the five Kings joined forces there in the Valley of Siddam,

which is now the Dead Sea. For twelve years they'd

been oppressed by other kingdoms. So in the thirteenth year

they rebelled. And then it says but in the fourteenth year,

their presses recruited his allies to team up and reconquer

the land. So they, after being pressed for twelve years,

said we're not paying any more taxes. Forget 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 Sinnam.

Now what happens here next is why it's important to you.

In verse ten, it says this, Now, this valley was

full of sticky tarpits, And when the kings of Sodom

and Gomorrah 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 tar pits. So the invaders plundered the cities of

Sodom and gomor Uh, and they took everything they had,

and they also captured Abraham's nephew Lot, who was living

in Sodom. Now I'm not gonna go into this part

of the story, but Abraham later goes back. He goes

to war against these guys, freeze his nephew, and gets

the cities all their 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 what are they talking about there? Well,

that's kind of bitumen in the area, and they got stuck. Now,

how do you end up in this kind of valley?

But this kind of value value of cinema, 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, Sidem 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 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.

You slip, you fall and you get stuck. Question, what's

your sidam today? What are you running from? And you

know you need to face it, that conflict, that confrontation

you're running from, And what's your dark slimy tar pit.

Some people, it 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 Gomar 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 into 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 on Daily

Hope into German 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 Rick at pastorick dot com.

That's Rick at pastorick dot com. Be sure to join

us next time as we look into God's word for

our daily hope. This program is answered by Pastor Rick's

daily hope and your generous financial support.

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