King of the Hill - Part 1

There's a great game I used to play when I was little. Me and my friends would find a small hill and then try to be the one who stood at the top as King of the Hill.

During the game, we would wrestle and push each other in an attempt to keep them from making it to the top. All the while, we were trying to get there ourselves.

Sometimes in life we face hills, seemingly insurmountable challenges that would keep us from the top of our hill, from the best life.

These hills can be large, even mountain-like at times.

Maybe the hill you are facing is a physical issue, a sickness or chronic pain.

Maybe your hill is a struggling relationship or a financial crisis.

Sometimes when we face hills, we can wonder what we have done wrong, or why we may find ourselves in a valley again.

But it may give you some relief to know that everyone faces hills. In fact, Jesus tells us in John 16:33 "...in this world, you will have trouble..."

So if you find yourself in a valley, facing a giant hill, let me encourage you with these few thoughts.

1. Valleys are unavoidable!

As we just saw in John 16:33, Jesus told us that we would have trouble, that we would experience valleys.

But the fact that you may be in a valley does not mean that you are less of a Christian or that God is mad at you. We have an enemy who wants to keep us down. His plan is for us to never experience the hill-top.

But in the same verse that Jesus told us we would experience valleys, He also told us to "...take heart, I have already overcome the world."

2. God is still with us in the valley!

In Psalm 23, David said, "though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, FOR YOU ARE WITH ME."

A great attribute of God is faithfulness. Even when everyone around us may stop believing or even abandon us in times of trouble, God does not!

In fact, Jesus said..."I will never leave you nor forsake you..." YES! God is here, in the valley, in the low times, in the bad times, GOD is WITH US!

3. The Valley is NOT our final destination!

Davis reminds us in Psalms 30:5 "…weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning."

We may experience valleys, but we don't have to live in them. Remember the words of David from Psalm 23, "...though I walk THROUGH the valley..."

Let's not stay in the valley, let's begin our ascent to the top of our circumstance, our challenge and be KING of the HILL!

In the coming weeks we will look at four obstacles we must overcome on our way to the top. We will look at great men of faith who, in spite of unimaginable challenges, ascended to become King of the Hill.