It was in the days of wicked King Ahab that we read about the God of the hills and of the valleys. Israel had defeated the Syrians in battle (1 Ki. 20:1–21). However, the king of Syria had not given up and planned to attack Israel again with a vast army the following spring (v. 22). The officials of the Syrian king told him that the God of Israel was only the God of the hills but not of the valleys; therefore, if he were to fight Israel in the valleys, “surely we will be stronger than they” (vv. 23–25).

Little did the Syrians know about the God of Israel! Their idea was that the various “gods” only had power over certain jurisdictions or geographical areas. But God was about to demonstrate that He is the God of all nature, over all geographical areas, and of all history. Israel indeed went on to defeat the great army of the Syrians; thus it was shown that the God of Israel was the God of both the hills and the valleys.

It is a wonderful lesson for the Christian that our God is over both the hills and the valleys of life. He is able to give victory not only in the good times but also in the valley of tough times. As the well-known hymn puts it,

For the God on the mountain is the God in the valley
When things go wrong, He’ll make them right
And the God of the good times is still God in the bad times
The God of the day is still God in the night.

Let us go forward into the new year with the confidence that our God is still the sovereign God of history, and of nations, and of every aspect of our daily lives. He has proved it in the past, and He will prove it again.