-July 12, 2024-
Good morning beloved, happy Friday,
“Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John, and led them up on a high mountain” (Mark 9:2).
“Then one in the crowd answered and said, ‘Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and he becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not” (Mark 9:17-18).
We have all heard of the term, “mountaintop experience.” It refers to something really great that happens to us. Jesus chose three of His inner circle of disciples to see Him transfigured before them. Imagine how awesome that was! His clothes became shining, white, like snow, such as no earthly launderer can whiten them. In addition, Moses and Elijah appeared and spoke to Jesus.
God spoke to them, out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him! Suddenly, when they had looked around, they saw no one anymore, but only Jesus with themselves” (Mark 9:7-8). Talk about an amazing mountaintop experience! The disciples learned the lesson that Jesus was them on the mountaintop. It isn’t about us or some emotional experience. God gives some mountaintop experiences, to be sure, great victories and successes, but we can’t stay on the mountain. We must go down to the valleys in life.
The valleys represent the realities of life: the trials, the challenges, the hardships, the pain, the sorrows, the failures, and the defeats. He is with us just as much in the valley as He is on the mountaintop. We must walk by faith through the valley of the shadow of dead. We must trust Him in the dark as we trust Him in the light.
You might be on the mountaintop today or you may be in the valley. We learn lessons in both, but I believe we learn more in the valleys. God ordains the mountaintops and He ordains the valleys.
Have a blessed day in every way. Stay safe and healthy.
Anywhere with Jesus we are safe and secure; anything with Jesus we can truly endure.
Dean
Dean Allen's Daily Devotional 