“Come, descendants of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the Lord.”  Isaiah 2:3, 5

It is true, we live in the valleys where life comes at us, often without warning. We get bewildered and often have no idea of what is going on so we just try by all means to survive!  It is as simple as that.

I would like to flee from the valley of confusion and constant demand. Not a bad hope!  But I know that I must walk with God in the valleys of life, among shadows and struggle. Only death will remove me from life’s ongoing valley.  So the answer is not to leave the valley because that is where we live our lives, there is no other way.

The Prophet of God, Isaiah, has a blessed word for us. “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord…He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.”

God has the answer. “Go up to the mountain of the Lord.”  That is God’s way for us – to climb the mountain of his grace, spend time learning from him, and receiving the infilling of the Ho;y Spirit so we can live with God in the valleys of everyday life, bringing the light of God into the shadows of the valley. There  “He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.”

My mind goes back to the letter to the Ephesians where Paul reminds the followers of Jesus, like us,  in that busy and multi-cultural city, to walk in the heavenlies. That is the answer, not do dread the valley but to walk in it with our heads in the heavenlies. Feet on ground, hearts on high! That is a fit description of the followers of Jesus, now and forever.