What do we do with valleys?

At the beginning of the chapter that tells the story of David and Goliath, the Bible sets the scene with an easily overlooked detail.

The Philistines occupied one hill and the Israelites another, with the valley between them. (1 Samuel‬ ‭17:3‬ ‭NIV‬‬, emphasis mine)

For forty days, the only thing happening in the valley was Goliath. A giant of a man, the enemy stepped into the valley each day like clockwork to threaten the Israelites and curse their God.

The enemy knows what to do with valleys. He uses them to taunt us, to tease us, and to threaten us. He uses the valley to convince us that life on the mountain in fear is better than fighting in the valley for freedom.

It worked then, and it still works now. How many of us are like the army of Israel? We know that there is more, and yet we aren’t willing to leave the place of apparent comfort to secure real freedom. We surround ourselves with others who are willing to settle for a piece of peace instead of surrounding ourselves with Davids who are willing to risk it all in order to get it all.

In short, we don’t see the valley as a place to go through, but rather as a place to stop short.

I don’t know how long the Israelites would have stayed on that hill, but I’m sure it would have been well past the forty days. David forced their hand, and if he hadn’t, I’m sure at some point the enemy would have.

Maybe you’re facing a valley. It could be a relationship that seems permanently broken. Maybe you’re fully vaccinated and yet still frozen in fear over a virus and don’t want to leave the safety of your home. It’s possible that you’ve reached a place in your journey with Jesus where you feel that you can settle in partial peace because finding true peace seems too hard.

Ultimately, we all have to answer the question of the valley? Do we step into it and fight, or do we stop short of it and settle? There is victory in the valley, and I say we take it!

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