The God of the Hills & the Valleys

My husband told me early on in our marriage that my expectations get me in trouble.

You see, I like to control things.
I think a lot of us do.

When we were first married I would always have an expectation of what I wanted him to do for my birthday or our anniversary.

But when he asked what I wanted to do, I would say "whatever you think."

So he would pick something.

And if it didn't match what was in my head,
I would quietly…or not so quietly…be disappointed.

I know. I sound like a great wife.

I promise I have gotten better.
Not perfect.
But better.

Here is the thing —

I think I do the same thing with God.

In 1 Kings 20 there is a story that stopped me.

A king from Aram (modern day Syria) decides to go after Israel with a massive coalition of thirty-two allied kings.

Israel is outnumbered. Badly.

It would have been like a NFL team going up against a middle school football team. 

No contest.
No chance.

And Israel's king at the time?
He doesn't even follow God.

Yet God shows up anyway. 

Not because Israel deserved it.
Not because their king earned it.
But because God was making a statement about who He is.

Israel wins.

And Aram's response is fascinating.

They didn't say we were outmatched.
They didn't say their God is more powerful than ours.

They said - 

“Their God is a God of the hills.
If we fight them on the plains, we will win.”

They put God in a box.
A hill-shaped box.
And they walked confidently into the valley based on that assumption.

When they did that…Israel killed one hundred thousand of them in a single day.

I think sometimes..
I do the same thing Aram did.
Just from the other direction.

I've been in a season where God has been showing up with manna.
Daily provision.
Just enough.
The jar that doesn't run out but never seems to overflow. 

And somewhere along the way, without even realizing it,
I put God in a manna-shaped box.

I started to assume that was the only way He would show up.

I forgot He's also the God of the breakthrough.
The God of the impossible.
The God that removes every natural explanation.

I am grateful for the manna. I really am.

But somewhere along the way…
I stopped expecting the fire.

Not out loud.
But quietly.
And that’s what got me.

Because I didn’t even realize
I had lowered my expectation of Him.

Because here is what God says about himself in 1 Kings 20.

I am the God of the hills and the valleys. 
Of the expected and the unexpected. 
Of the qualified and the unqualified. 
Of the mountaintop fire and the daily manna. 
Of the dramatic breakthrough and the quiet provision.

He cannot be contained in a category. 
He cannot be predicted. 
He will not stay in the box we build for Him.

We are not God.
We don't get to decide which version of Him shows up next.

So here’s the truth I am realizing...

Never assume the manna and dismiss the breakthrough. 
Never assume the breakthrough and dismiss the manna.

If you are in a manna season — be grateful. 

Trust that God knows what that season requires.
The daily provision is not a lesser version of His power.
It is its own miracle.

But don't ever forget who you serve.

He is the same God who defeated thirty-two kings in the hills and in the valley.
The same God who called down fire on a drenched altar.
The same God who parted water,
opened wombs,
and raised the dead.

He can change a business's finances in a single day. 
He can change a diagnosis. 
He can change a relationship. 
He can change a season.

When, if and how that happens is not up to us.

But we should never forget it's possible.
We should never forget it could be any minute.
We should never stop being ready.

Because He is not just the God of the hills.

He is the God of the hills…
and the valleys.

And He refuses to stay in your box.