Remember this test?
9 And Satan answered Yahweh and said, “Does Job fear God without cause? 10 Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But send forth Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face.” (Job 1:9-11)

It's a test we all must face...that is, when we feel blessed...or God seems to be using us greatly...or people seem to be inspired by our service, we feel a sense of satisfaction and our commitment to God and His purposes is without question. But what about when all those “blessings” are removed...when we don't see the “blessings” we think we should expect? What then? Are we still committed to faithfully serving God and trusting in His purposes? It's easy to live on the mountain top, but our faith and trust in Jesus is found in the valley where we feel disappointment and abandonment. It's in the valley where we must look beyond our disappointments and seek God's purposes.

This is the theme of today's My Utmost for His Highest:

“After every period of exaltation, we are brought down with a sudden rush into things as they are, where it is neither beautiful nor poetic nor thrilling. The height of the mountaintop is measured by the drudgery of the valley—but it's in the valley that we have to live for the glory of God. When we are on the mountaintop, we see the glory of God, but we cannot live for it. Only in the depths of the valley, in the realm of humiliation, do we discover our true worth to God; only there is our faithfulness revealed.

Most of us can do all sorts of difficult things when we are filled with a sense of heroism. But this is only because of the natural selfishness of our hearts, our desire to be useful and adored. God wants us to relinquish the heroic frame of mind. He wants us to live in the valley according to our personal relationship to him.

When you were on the mountaintop, you could believe anything. But what about when you were up against facts in the valley? You may be able to give testimony about your miraculous spiritual experiences, but what about the thing that is humiliating you just now? The last time you were on the mountain with God, you saw that all power in heaven and earth belonged to Jesus. Will you see it now in the valley?”

How easy it is for us to feel satisfied and fulfilled when we see our desires and goals met to our expectations. Without even realizing it, this striving for “satisfaction” may be more fleshly driven than trusting in God working in and through us in ways we don't realize...or worse, in ways we refuse to go through. Faithfully walking in the valley with Christ means deepening our trust in Him when our own expectations seem dim or unattainable. It's what Bunyan called “the Slough of Despond” in Pilgrim's Progress. Our prayer should be: Lord, teach us to trust in Your purposes as we travel in the inevitable valleys of our pilgrimage. We want to be faithful and trust in Your purposes for our lives.

I'm reminded again of the words of Andrea Crouch's song:

So I thank God for the mountains
And I thank Him for the valleys
And I thank Him for the storms He's brought me through
For if I'd never had a problem
I'd never know God could solve them
I'd never know what faith in His word could do

Walk with the King today and be a blessing.