Have you ever noticed how the valleys you go through seem to last so long? Whereas the peaks you hit in life are quickly over? Or how a valley is quickly followed after a major victory? It is not just you. This has been the state of things since way back. Today I am going to give you several examples of men who experienced major victory - then gave in to despair or sin. The point of this is simple.... We all feel that what we do or go through is unique to us. However, it is not. We just fail to address these issues with others for fear that we may be the odd person we feel we are. The majority of us are basically the same just in different circumstances, circumstances mirrored in other lives. We just do not discus them anymore and think we are an island.
No man is an island.
Solomon wisely and truly proclaims "there is nothing new under the sun".
So to start the examples will be Moses. Then we will go to Elisha. Then to Peter.
Moses was on the mount communing with God and when he came down with the two tablets he saw the people had sinned/were sinning.
Exodus 32:19-20KJV
19 And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount.
20 And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.
He came back from his visit with God, The God who had led them out of Egypt, plagued Egypt with 10 plagues, and parted the Red Sea. The people had forgotten this already and turned and wanted an image made for them to worship. How soon they forgot. Moses came to this happening and lost his temper just minutes after convincing God to not destroy these people. How quickly he was forced from the peak here! He then entered the valley. As you can see this peak was short-lived due to his reactions to others. As you can also see when Moses got mad it was a towering anger! After communing with God, receiving the tablets he lost all the peace and sincerity and sense of awe.
The cause and effect here of other people and his reaction were what caused this peak to be short lived. The people whom he had led had forgotten, and were led astray by their own mischief.
1 Kings 18:36-40KJV
36 And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.
37 Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.
38 Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God.
40 And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.
There is Elijah's victory. Then comes the valley.
1 Kings 19:1-10 King James Version (KJV)
3 And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there.
4 But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.
5 And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat.
6 And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again.
7 And the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee.
8 And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.
9 And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?
10 And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.
Here you see Elijah a mighty man of God, prophesy and pray and shew the nation that the Lord God is the only God. Then you see him run before King Ahab and lead him full in the thrall of victory. Then Queen Jezebel shows up and Elijah lifts his skirts and runs and hides in the face of a mere verbal threat.
Again cause and effect here Jezebel a woman caused him to fear for his life after a powerful display of power from Almighty God.
For our last example we shall go to a New Testament example from a great preacher and fierce defender of the faith, Peter
Matthew 16:15-23 KJV
15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
20 Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.
21 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.
22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.
23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
Peter recognized Christ for who He was. A shining victory and a great spiritual triumph. Quickly followed by a spiritual valley caused by pride, satan, and human frailty. Peter knew not the mind of God, he merely inserted his limited earthly thinking into God's plan. He knew who Christ was but failed to know the purpose of Christ which was to die on the cross for our sins.
Cause and effect here was Peter's own self. He had good intentions, but the wrong thinking. He saw things through Peter's eyes not through the prism of God's will and purpose.
We have here 3 examples of stalwart godly men, yet they all stumbled and fell. Why? Because they too were just men as you and I are. They saw things through the limited mind of man. Thus causing them to fail to see the Whole of God even though they had just witnessed mighty works of God.
How much more so are we subject to the peaks and valleys? We have the Word of God not the works of God right before us. Therefore it is easier for us to stumble.
However, remember that after their stumbles they picked themselves up, in a couple of cases they had to pick themselves up repeatedly. But they picked themselves up and continued on in service to their God.
It is our reactions to the peaks and valleys that determine our path. Do we pick ourselves up and continue on the path? or do we find a juniper tree and hide under it?
No matter what befalls you, no matter the circumstances pick yourself and carry on in the Will and Word of God. All men sin. All men Fail. All men make mistakes. The true heroes are the ones who get up and continue on in the day to day.
Look forward to the peaks, celebrate them. Just know that the peaks are quick very often followed by long valleys. Do not lose sight of God or your purpose in the valleys. God is God in both instances and He shall carry you through.
No man is an island.
Solomon wisely and truly proclaims "there is nothing new under the sun".
So to start the examples will be Moses. Then we will go to Elisha. Then to Peter.
Moses was on the mount communing with God and when he came down with the two tablets he saw the people had sinned/were sinning.
Exodus 32:19-20KJV
19 And it came to pass, as soon as he came nigh unto the camp, that he saw the calf, and the dancing: and Moses' anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount.
20 And he took the calf which they had made, and burnt it in the fire, and ground it to powder, and strawed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.
He came back from his visit with God, The God who had led them out of Egypt, plagued Egypt with 10 plagues, and parted the Red Sea. The people had forgotten this already and turned and wanted an image made for them to worship. How soon they forgot. Moses came to this happening and lost his temper just minutes after convincing God to not destroy these people. How quickly he was forced from the peak here! He then entered the valley. As you can see this peak was short-lived due to his reactions to others. As you can also see when Moses got mad it was a towering anger! After communing with God, receiving the tablets he lost all the peace and sincerity and sense of awe.
The cause and effect here of other people and his reaction were what caused this peak to be short lived. The people whom he had led had forgotten, and were led astray by their own mischief.
1 Kings 18:36-40KJV
36 And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word.
37 Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again.
38 Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.
39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God.
40 And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there.
There is Elijah's victory. Then comes the valley.
1 Kings 19:1-10 King James Version (KJV)
19 And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.
2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time.3 And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there.
4 But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.
5 And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat.
6 And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again.
7 And the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee.
8 And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God.
9 And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?
10 And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.
Here you see Elijah a mighty man of God, prophesy and pray and shew the nation that the Lord God is the only God. Then you see him run before King Ahab and lead him full in the thrall of victory. Then Queen Jezebel shows up and Elijah lifts his skirts and runs and hides in the face of a mere verbal threat.
Again cause and effect here Jezebel a woman caused him to fear for his life after a powerful display of power from Almighty God.
For our last example we shall go to a New Testament example from a great preacher and fierce defender of the faith, Peter
Matthew 16:15-23 KJV
15 He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?
16 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
17 And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.
18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
20 Then charged he his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ.
21 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.
22 Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.
23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
Peter recognized Christ for who He was. A shining victory and a great spiritual triumph. Quickly followed by a spiritual valley caused by pride, satan, and human frailty. Peter knew not the mind of God, he merely inserted his limited earthly thinking into God's plan. He knew who Christ was but failed to know the purpose of Christ which was to die on the cross for our sins.
Cause and effect here was Peter's own self. He had good intentions, but the wrong thinking. He saw things through Peter's eyes not through the prism of God's will and purpose.
We have here 3 examples of stalwart godly men, yet they all stumbled and fell. Why? Because they too were just men as you and I are. They saw things through the limited mind of man. Thus causing them to fail to see the Whole of God even though they had just witnessed mighty works of God.
How much more so are we subject to the peaks and valleys? We have the Word of God not the works of God right before us. Therefore it is easier for us to stumble.
However, remember that after their stumbles they picked themselves up, in a couple of cases they had to pick themselves up repeatedly. But they picked themselves up and continued on in service to their God.
It is our reactions to the peaks and valleys that determine our path. Do we pick ourselves up and continue on the path? or do we find a juniper tree and hide under it?
No matter what befalls you, no matter the circumstances pick yourself and carry on in the Will and Word of God. All men sin. All men Fail. All men make mistakes. The true heroes are the ones who get up and continue on in the day to day.
Look forward to the peaks, celebrate them. Just know that the peaks are quick very often followed by long valleys. Do not lose sight of God or your purpose in the valleys. God is God in both instances and He shall carry you through.
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