Mountains are majestic and draw me into them like steel to a magnet. To be at the pinnacle of one of them makes me feel strong and alive and able. I feel so close to God because I can see a hugely vast expanse of His handiwork. Being at the bottom of a mountain looking up, I feel small, and humbled, and in awe of a Creator who is incredibly bigger than the beautiful thing that dwarfs my being, but sparks my imagination as to just how big God might be.

I have used words and clichés before to denote metaphorical mountains and valleys, usually referring to emotions or difficult vs. blissful times of life. 

In life, and in the Bible, mountaintops are places where things are revealed, victory is portrayed, and revelations from and conversations with God transpire. Your soul can’t help but sing when you are on top of a mountain. You see things from a new perspective, and you feel victorious just being there.

“The Lord said to Moses… “Be ready in the morning, and then come up on Mount Sinai. Present yourself to me there on top of the mountain.” When Moses came down from Mount Sinai…his face was radiant because He had spoken with the Lord.” Exodus 34:2,29

A view of the mountain from the valley, however, seems to offer more of a reality check. You feel your mortality. By simply standing in the shadow of the mountain(s) you sense a challenge being posed.  Biblically, valleys are talked about as places of testing where dependence on God sustains you and His faithful presence comforts and guides you. From the valley experience comes growth, mental, emotional, spiritual, and sometimes even physical.

“I lift up my eyes to the mountains—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” Psalm 121:1–2

After having visited some spectacular mountains and valleys, I noted some things that I don’t think I had thought about before:

• Mountaintops, typically viewed as the most robust of times with the best view of things, can still present challenges: hazardous terrain, unknown wildlife, dangerous weather conditions, and seclusion from people and other necessities.
• Valleys, often seen as the leaner times in life with oppressive circumstances, often come with spectacular blessings: lush and beautiful vegetation, the company of others, more steady footing.

A friend of mine said it best: “The God of the mountaintop is also the God of the valley, so wherever I roam, He is my constant companion, and in Him I will trust.”

These new perspectives I’ve gained remind me that there is nowhere I can go where God is not Lord. He is our Creator, our Sustainer, and our Savior. In Psalm 139, King David writes that there is nowhere we can go where God will not be holding us.

“Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, You are there; if I make my bed in the depths, You are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there Your hand will hold me fast.” vv. 7-10

In this big, beautiful, wide, expansive world, that is also broken, and scary, and challenging, and sometimes seems to overshadow us – we are never alone. And we belong to the One who made it. So, despite mankind’s dark marks on humanity and His earth, God is still in control, still holds us in the palm of His hand, and loves us emphatically.