Praise in the Valleys

Praise in the Valleys

I’m in a season of life where I can relate to the writer of the Psalms probably more than ever before. The week began with three amazing days of retreat—three days I’m incredibly grateful to have had before the subsequent drama and pain that have followed. As I often say to people: “You couldn’t make my life up!”

The writer of the Psalms paints a vivid picture of the highs and lows of life. There are exciting, exhilarating mountaintop moments. There are desperately painful, relentless valley-bottom moments. There are times when the Psalmist cries out to God in distress, times when they cannot see or sense God’s presence at all. And yet, throughout the Psalms, God is always present—irrespective of whether the Psalmist can see God or not. What’s more, the Psalmist remembers to give all the praise, all the glory, and all the honour to God.

Today, in my devotions, I read Psalm 22. The psalm begins with such raw honesty:

“My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?

I have cried desperately for help, but still it does not come.

During the day I call to you, my God, but you do not answer;

I call at night, but get no rest.” (Psalm 22:1-2, GNT)

Yet the psalm doesn’t end in despair. It ends with hope, with victory, with a reminder of the God who saves:

“People not yet born will be told:

‘The Lord saved his people.’” (Psalm 22:31, GNT)

El Yeshu’atenu—The God of our Salvation.

Thank God for the Psalms. They’re a beautifully powerful reminder of the rollercoaster of human experience—the ups and the downs, the mountain tops and the valley bottoms. They remind us it’s okay to wrestle with God. It’s okay to cry out. It’s okay to question. But that wrestling is held within praise, within adoration, within awe and reverence for who God is.

As the song says:

I’ll praise in the valleys,

I’ll praise on the mountains,

I’ll praise when I’m sure,

I’ll praise when I’m doubting,

I’ll praise when outnumbered,

I’ll praise when surrounded,

‘Cause praise is the waters my enemies drown in.

As long as I’m breathing, I’ve got a reason to praise!

If you’re a praying person, please pray for my children and me in these days. 

Wherever you find yourself today—on the mountaintop or in the valley—I hope you find comfort in the Psalms and strength in the God who walks with you through it all. Keep praising. Keep faithful. Trust in the only One who saves. Trust in the only One who keeps his promises. God will never fail you. God will never leave you.