There Was Jesus: On the Mountain and In the Valleys (YouVersion Devotional, “There Was Jesus”)

Sometimes, I don’t know what’s harder to remember: to praise Him in the hard times or to praise Him in the good times. He’s with us during both and every time in between. Remember the last time you had a really great day? Did you recognize Jesus with you that day? Were you mindful of His presence? Did you thank Him for that good day? It’s not often that I remember that He is with me when I have a good day, probably because things feel under control. 

Just like in yesterday’s scriptures, trusting that God is with us in difficult times poses its own set of challenges, but as there are scriptures to remind us He is with us during the rough times, there are scriptures to remind us He is with us during the good times too. 

James 5:13 says, “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.”

It doesn’t say to sing praise only when times are bad or only when times are good. 

My prayer is that we can always look around and recognize His presence at all times; good and bad, on the mountain and in the valleys. 1 Chronicles 16:11 tells us to “seek His presence continually.” I invite you to do an exercise with me right now: take a look around and thank God for existing in this place and in this time right now. You may not feel anything; you may not see anything, but trust that He’s there with you right now.

‘Every minute, every moment 

Of where I been and where I’m going 

Even when I didn’t know it 

Or couldn’t see it 

There was Jesus.’

My Thoughts

Usually, my life, and probably yours, too, goes in cycles. I’m on a mountaintop and then in a valley (or traveling between the two). Yesterday started to be a regular day for me with an appointment for a Doppler test at my neurologist’s office. My husband was driving, and suddenly (like really fast), the car in front of us braked and Harry had to brake quickly. Praise God for looking out for us! We didn’t hit the car in front of us and the car behind us didn’t smash into us, either. I thought about my verses for this week in Psalm 121:7-8 that remind me that God “keeps me in my going out and coming in.” We continued on our journey and a car darted out of a side road, right in front of us. It was like he didn’t see us or was daring us to hit him or something. Once again, Harry employed a hard brake and I was thankful for God’s calming presence. Yesterday’s trip was like trying not to play “bumper cars” on the roads to the hospital.

Then, I had my Doppler. The technician that does the test has been doing them annually for me for the last nine years, so I am acquainted with him but he has never really been talkative. I decided that was just his personality and just followed his instructions. But yesterday, he was talkative and said more than, “Lie down on the table, please.” He asked if I could get on the table and would I be okay there for a few minutes on my back. Then he chatted with me a little as the test proceeded. At the end of the test, which took less than fifteen minutes, he told me that he saw a little blockage in my carotid and hoped it didn’t get any worse. Well, for someone who has had a stroke, a blockage of any kind is not good news, to say the least. I told him that I would be praying about it, he walked me to the exit and I was done.

So, was all this a mountain or a valley? I honestly don’t know. I felt God with me in the car as we avoided accidents that could have been the result of driver error (the other drivers). I felt God with me when I was with the technician, soothing me to be okay on a hard table with a bad back. And when the technician told me I have a little blockage, I focused on the word “little” instead of the blockage. I knew right away that was something I would need to be praying about in order to achieve peace about it.

Regardless, I knew that God was right there with me. He tells me in His Word that He won’t leave me and that He would keep me as I traveled, and He did, He does, and He will. I contacted my neurologist to ask what the plan is now that my Doppler has been done and I expect to hear from him in a couple of days. Whatever the plan is, God will be beside me.

“There Was Jesus”-Zach Williams and Dolly Parton