When we consider a mountaintop, we seldom picture a lush garden. Like Mount Everest, the largest mountains are nothing but ice, wind, and jagged rock, yet many seek to reach the top. Climbers who venture to climb this great mountain, if they achieve the great feat, often only stay there for a few minutes to take a picture of their great victory, then quickly start the journey down. Mountaintop experiences offer only a brief glimpse when compared to eternity. Those who were successful in the achievement only get to take a picture of the success, which is only for a minute. We seldom consider those who failed or even died on the journey to the top.
This same example can be used in man’s drive to be successful. Many wear themselves out climbing the ‘mountain of prosperity,’ not realizing that the journey often robs us of what’s important and even takes the lives of many. Lush gardens are not on the mountaintop––real fruit usually only grows in the valley, where trials and tribulations take place. Yet the ‘valley of trials’ is where we can rest in God. Consider the potential of a garden. It needs to be plowed, seeds planted, watered, and weeds pulled. Constant work is needed for our garden to bear fruit—time, hard work, and patience are often the keys to success in the garden. You train and climb mountaintops, and assuming you achieve the goal, the victory is only for a glimpse. The sad part is that the victors spend the rest of their lives talking about the triumph while their eternal victory is wasted away. While those of us in the valley till our soil, pull weeds, and work hard to ensure the weeds don’t take over, we often work and wait for fruit that isn’t seen right away. Why? Because the garden is where godly, eternal fruit grows.
Eternal fruit is not always seen. The challenges we face and our quest to know God are often undertaken in private. Many of those around us may not know we are going through trials, but our Father in Heaven does (“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1: 2-4). So, when we face trials in the valley, that is exactly where God blesses us. The Lord loves it when we turn to Him and put the outcome of the moment in His hands.
In the valley, we should take pride in our high position in Him (“Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower.” James 1:9-10). While the valley is our position, the garden fruit is what we work to achieve––this is a work of the Holy Spirit. In the garden of our soul, we find rest beside the still waters because we know God is in charge (The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. Psalm 23:1-3). We water our garden by learning His Word (“Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.” Joshua 1:8).
We plant seeds in the garden by telling our friends and family Who He is (“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” Romans 10:14-15). We pull weeds in the garden by allowing the Holy Spirit to direct us in what we should not do (‘But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.’ John 14:26).
The garden is not easy, but it’s where our faith in Him grows. We trust Him when rain doesn’t come and praise Him when it does. We trust Him when it seems not to be going well. Even as others who don’t seek Him seem to prosper and are growing all around us, we trust Him because the Lord tells us that He will separate the weeds from the righteous on the Day of Harvest (“His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” Matthew 3:12). The righteous will be gathered into Heaven while the weeds will be pulled, bundled, and thrown into the Lake of Fire.
Our garden may be in the valley, unseen by most, but that’s where the fruit grows. Our character is perfected in the valley––whether we are currently climbing a mountain or have had a mountaintop experience. From a worldly perspective, that’s not where our relationship with the Lord prospers. Worldly prosperity may be all around us, but our prosperity is the fruit inside us. The country needs strong men with godly resolve. Our fruit grows in the ‘valley of challenges.’ When bad things happen to godly men, consider this verse. Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. James 1:1
As men of God, we trust God in all things. Our fruit cannot be bought; it is earned by trusting Him!
Have a great week!
Stephen L. Thomas