Pastor Rick's Daily Hope

Pastor Rick Warren: 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 23 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.

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. Today I want us to look at the theme of 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 23 and we're down to verse 4 now. So let's read it together with great enthusiasm. You've probably got a lot of it memorized by now. If you say a "thee" or a "thou" because you memorized it in King James, that's perfectly fine. Let's say it together.

The Lord is my shepherd, I have everything that I need. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads 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 800 feet tall.

So when you're looking up on either side, the only time you'd get the sun is actually at noon day. 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 the canyon was so narrow. The sun only shines when it's right overhead and it would be in shadows most of the day. Yea, 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 2,900 years ago, there was a king in Israel, his name was Ahab. The Syrian army decided they were going to depose Ahab. So the king of Syria lined up 32 nations to come against Israel.

They came against Israel and God miraculously gave Israel a victory and soundly defeated the king of Syria and his 32 allies. Well, the following year, Syria decided they were going to try it again and they were going to come back and try to take over Israel.

In reviewing the previous battle from a year earlier, all of the Syrian generals came up with a different plan. Here's what it says. First Kings tells us chapter 20: "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.'"

So they changed plans. Instead of fighting the Israelites up in the hill 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 valley. So they adjusted 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 very imbalanced. There are maybe 100,000 troops coming against Israel. Israel has at the most 7,000. So 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 First Kings chapter 20 verse 28 it 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 can summarize everything we're going to 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 the 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 Achor. The Bible talks about the valley of weeping. There are all kinds of metaphors. Valleys are a symbol of difficult times in your life in the Bible. And God says, "I'm not just the 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 and my life are not lived on the mountaintops. When you're in a mountaintop experience, the view is great. They give you a great view, but mountain peaks are far and few. Most of the time you live your life in the valleys. I got to 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 San Jose and I grew up in the Silicon Valley. Then my dad moved our family to the Willamette Valley up in Oregon and we lived there. Then we moved from the Willamette Valley back to Mill Valley where we lived in Mill Valley in Northern California. From there we moved to a little tiny village in the Redwoods called Redwood Valley. 500 people in this little town and I grew up in Redwood Valley. Then for the last 37 years I've been in the Saddleback Valley.

So I've been in a 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 are 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? 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 valley you're going through right now. It may be 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 valley you're going through, you're going to need this message. So 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 want to write these two or three things down. First, we know that valleys are a part of life. 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 of one right now or you're headed into another one. Because that's what life is all about.

So don't be shocked, 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 going to experience defeat, distractions and disturbances, despair and depression. It's a normal part of life. Valleys are a 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 11:11: "The promised land," God says to those who are 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. First Peter 4:12 says this: "Don't be surprised when you are tested by troubles or painful suffering as if something unusual had happened to you." Don't be surprised. They're part of life. They are inevitable. 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 a 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 are they inevitable, they're impartial. Good things happen to bad people and bad things happen to good people. Valleys are impartial. Psalm 34 verse 19 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 think if I got problems in my life, God's punishing me. No, God's not punishing me. This is just part of being part of the human race. You're in a world that is broken and is 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 follower of Jesus, does not exempt you. Valleys are part of life and valleys happen to everyone. In fact, Jesus said in Matthew 5:45: "The rain falls on the just and the unjust." Everybody goes through the exact same things in life.

Not only are 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 them. You can't time them. Problems typically catch you off guard. They come unexpectedly. In fact, your valleys and your problems come usually at the worst time. When you don't have time, when you're unprepared, when you're inconvenienced. Wouldn't it be easier if you could schedule all your valleys in life? I'm caught up on my sleep, my health is good, nobody's bugging me. Okay, now I'll take a problem or two. It doesn't happen like that. They're 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 make a decision, you had nothing to do with it, and all of a sudden your life's thrown upside down. Somebody up in corporate made a decision. Proverbs 27 verse 1 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 valleys 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 valleys 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 valleys 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 Siddim. The Valley of Siddim. Now the Valley of Siddim is actually in Genesis chapter 14. And this is, if you like war stories, this is a tremendous chapter. Genesis 14. How many of you either saw the movie or read the book, Lord of the Rings? Okay. You know that the big climactic battle is called the Battle of the Five Armies, right? It's a big epic battle, the Battle of the Five Armies. The battle in Genesis 14 is far bigger than that because it's the Battle of Nine Armies.

Nine armies coming against each other. And here's the story. There are four enemy nations outside of Palestine that are going to try to overtake this. This is even before Israel's become a nation. Four enemies outside 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 happen 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 Ellasar, Elam and Goyim, these four kings went to war against the five kings of Sodom, you've heard of that one, Gomorrah, you've heard of that one, and three other cities. Now, the five kings joined forces in the Valley of Siddim. This is the first valley that I want you to understand. You're going to go through the valleys of Siddim. The Valley of Siddim which is now the Dead Sea. So it got wiped out. Remember fire and brimstone came, wiped out Sodom and Gomorrah. It's now called the Dead Sea. The five kings joined forces there in the Valley of Siddim which is now the Dead Sea.

For 12 years they'd been oppressed by other kingdoms, so in the 13th year they rebelled. And then it says, "But in the 14th year their oppressors recruited his allies to team up and reconquer the land." So they after being oppressed for 12 years said, "We're not paying any more taxes, forget you guys." And so now the guys said, "Yeah, you are going to pay taxes," and these four armies come against five armies. So the nine armies fought in the Valley of Siddim.

Now what happens here next is why it's important to you. In verse 10, it says this: "Now this valley was full of sticky tar pits. 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 Gomorrah and they took everything they had and they also captured Abraham's nephew Lot who was living in Sodom.

Now I'm not going to go into this part of the story, but Abraham later goes back, he goes to war against these guys, frees his nephew and gets the cities all 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 talking about there? Well, this kind of bitumen in the area and they got stuck. Now how do you end up in this kind of valley? This kind of valley, the Valley of Siddim. 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 and fall. I want you to write this down. Siddim 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 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 Siddim today? What are you running from? And you know you need to face it, that conflict, that confrontation, whatever, you're running from and what's your dark, slimy tar pit? For 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 Gomorrah 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.

Pastor Rick Warren: 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 God. 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@pastorrick.com. That's rick@pastorrick.com. Be sure to join us next time as we look into God's word for our daily hope. This program is sponsored by Pastor Rick's Daily Hope and your generous financial support.