2 Chronicles 20:12 O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”(ESV)
Valleys have a way of narrowing our attention.
When pressure closes in, we often stop thinking about who we want to become and focus only on how quickly we can escape. Fear tells us to act immediately. Anger tells us to strike back. Desperation tells us that any open path must be the right one.
But the fastest way out isn’t always the faithful way forward.
When Jehoshaphat learned that a great army was approaching, he didn’t pretend to have the strength or wisdom to solve the problem. He admitted that the people didn’t know what to do, and then he declared where they would look.
Their eyes were on God.
That was a decision made before the circumstances changed.
The enemy was still approaching. The danger was still real. Jehoshaphat didn’t wait for deliverance before choosing trust. His response to the valley began while he was still standing in it.
We may not control which valleys we enter, how long they last, or what threatens us there. But we still make choices within them.
We decide whether pain will make us cruel or compassionate. We decide whether uncertainty will drive us toward God or away from Him. We decide whether fear will control our actions or simply remind us that we need wisdom beyond our own.
2 Chronicles 20:17 You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.”(ESV)
God’s instruction wasn’t what fear would’ve suggested. The people were told to stand firm and watch Him act.
Sometimes faithfulness means moving forward. Sometimes it means turning around. Sometimes it means standing still long enough to hear what God is saying before we do something we can’t undo.
The valley doesn’t remove our responsibility to choose wisely. It often makes that responsibility more visible.
We may remember the valley because of what happened to us there. God may be equally concerned with what happened within us while we were there.
Escaping the valley isn’t the only victory available.
Sometimes the greater victory is leaving it more faithful than we entered.
Tomorrow, we will bring the first part of this series together by considering what remains constant when the terrain changes.
Walking With Christ 
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