1Samuel 17:41-43 “ The Philistine started walking toward David, with his shield bearer walking in front of him. He kept coming closer, and when he got a good look at David, he was filled with scorn for him because he was just a nice, good-looking boy. He said to David, “What’s that stick for? Do you think I’m a dog?” And he called down curses from his god on David.
Goliath was saying, ” Is this the best you can do? Is this all you’ve got? He discounted David and made fun of him. David didn’t pay any attention. He took a stone and put it in the slingshot. When he slung it, it hit Goliath right between the eyes and knocked him unconscious. David went over, took Goliath’s own sword, and cut his head off. Overnight, David became a national hero. God took him from valley to victory.
1) God will transform your valley of trouble into a gateway of blessings
David went from a shepherd boy that nobody had ever heard of to being the talk of the town, admired and loved by everyone. God knows how to take you from valley to victory, transforming a valley of trouble into a gateway of blessing. You may be in trouble now with your health, your finances, or your relationship. It might look like a setup meant to stop you, but God has another plan. Your journey from valley to victory is already in motion. You’re going to come out promoted, stronger, healthier, and better than you were before.
It’s no coincidence that David wrote in Psalm 23, “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.” He didn’t say, “Though I stay in the valley, or though I live in the valley.” No, the valley is not your home. The valley is temporary. You’re just passing through the valley. It’s just a matter of time before it’s turned into a gateway of favor and a gateway of healing.
2) Exalt God over your troubles
Don’t let the valley become permanent in your thinking. Don’t go around talking about “my sickness, my depression, or my arthritis.” Don’t take ownership of it. It’s not yours. God made you healthy, whole, free, blessed, and prosperous. Anything otherwise is on foreign territory.
David said, ” Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, ” and in the next verse, he said, “God anoints my head with oil and my cup runs over.” God was showing us that we have to go through some valleys before we come to the anointing where our cup runs over. This shows us the pattern of going from valley to victory—we pass through valleys before we step into overflow.
David could have started the chapter by talking about “my cup running over, then God anoints my head, and lastly, talked about the valleys.” But he did just the opposite. It’s because valleys precede overflow.
You may be dealing with the sickness now, but on the other side of that valley is your cup running over with good health. Things may be slow at the office, but when you make it through the valley, there will be an abundance of good breaks and promotions waiting for you. That family member might be causing trouble, but on the other side of the valley is great joy and great peace.
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3) Maintain a good attitude while Leaping from Valley to Victory
Your cup is going to run over with great relationships. None of us likes to go through the valleys, but if you keep the right perspective, knowing that the valley is leading you to overflow, then you’ll go through it with a good attitude.
I wonder how often we get stuck in the valley, complaining, “I can’t believe this happened.” God is waiting to transform it into a gateway of blessing, but we have to pass the test. How we go through the valley makes a difference.
I know a pastor who wanted to build a new auditorium. They had needed the space for a long time. He saw friends building nice auditoriums. They were doing great things, but every time he tried to move forward, he had a setback. He was tempted to get discouraged. When you’re in the valley, it’s a test. God is up to something that you can’t see. It’s easy to complain and live negatively, but you have to trust him in the valley.
And this pastor kept being his best month after month, thanking God that he was working, declaring that a new auditorium was on the way. It looked like he was stuck. The odds were against him, but he said it would never happen.
When it’s your time, all the forces of darkness cannot stop what God has ordained for you.
One day, unexpectedly, the mayor of this small town called to say that a group had built a huge casino building, but before they moved in, they went bankrupt. They had over 40 acres of parking, a building that could fit a football field inside. It was just a few miles from his church. The mayor asked if he was interested in purchasing it. The pastor thought it’d be over $50 million. It was a huge first class.
The mayor said, ” No, you can purchase it for under $2 million.” Instead of having to build his own facility, God dropped a much bigger, better facility into their hands.
4) Keep the faith as you go through the valley
When you go through the valley in faith, thanking God, then you’re going to come into that anointing where your cup runs over. God is going to do things that you’ve never dreamed. He’s going to transform the valley of trouble into a gateway of abundance.
You may feel like you’re stuck. Maybe you’re doing the right thing, but the wrong thing is happening. The good news is that the valley is not permanent. You are coming through. If you could see what was on the other side, you would be amazed. Your cup is going to run over.
Maybe a relationship didn’t work out, that person left you, and now you’re in the valley; that is not the end of your story. God has a running over blessing. Somebody better than you’ve ever dreamed is coming your way. Stay in faith in the valley. Don’t listen to Goliath. Don’t believe the lies that it’s never going to work out, or it’s too late, or the obstacle is too big. Like this pastor, the valley of trouble is leading to a gateway of abundance.
2Kings 3:17: For thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not see wind, neither shall ye see rain; yet that valley shall be filled with water, that ye may drink, both ye, and your cattle, and your beasts.
The Israelites had been traveling for seven days on their way to attack the Moabites, taking the long way around to surprise them, but they ran out of water. There was nothing for them or their animals to drink. The king of Israel said, ” Has God brought us out here to die? Someone spoke up and said, ” Let’s ask the prophet, Elisha.”
The valley was going to be filled with water without rain. I’m sure the Israelites thought, “Elisha, you missed it this time. That’s impossible. Where’s the water going to come from?” The next morning, they woke up, and suddenly water started flowing into the valley with no source. They went out and defeated the Moabites.
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5) From Valley to Victory: Try Not to Figure It Out—Believe the Lord
You don’t have to figure out how God will bring you out. It may not seem possible. You might have looked at all the options and don’t see a way. God has ways we’ve never thought of. We think in terms of the natural, but God is supernatural. Your journey from valley to victory is not based on human logic—it’s based on divine power. He can cause the property to find you. He can have the right people knock on your door. He can heal you without the treatment. The valley doesn’t stop our God. He’s not limited by what you don’t have. He’s not intimidated by what you’re up against. He spoke worlds into existence.
You may be in a dry valley, and it looks permanent, but as you move from valley to victory, get ready—water is about to flow into your valley. You’re not going to see when there’s rain; it’s not going to be ordinary. It’s going to be the hand of God. God is bringing water without rain, promotion without the qualification, and an auditorium without having to build it.
Don’t get discouraged because the valley is dry. God controls the faucet. His favor can open a door that couldn’t be opened. He can make things happen that can’t be explained.
6) You will soon rename your valley
When David was 37 years old, he was about to step into a new level of his destiny and become the king of all of Israel. He was in the valley of Rephaim, which means giants. Twenty years earlier, he defeated Goliath. Now he’s faced not just with one giant, but a valley full of giants. God helped him and his men, and they won the victory.
The scripture says David renamed the valley. Instead of leaving in the valley of Rephaim, he called it Baal-Perazim, which means “the God of the breakthrough.”
You may be in a valley now, and things may be difficult, but, as with David, one day you’ll rename that valley. Instead of a valley of disappointment, when you see what God does, you’re going to say, “That was a valley of favor—a valley where God showed out in my life.” Instead of a valley of sickness, a valley of suffering, you will rename it as a valley of healing—a valley of wholeness, where God made a way where I didn’t see a way. Or instead of a valley of addiction, a valley of failure, you will rename it as a valley of freedom—a valley of restoration, where I saw God’s grace as never before.
Don’t let the name of that valley fool you. God is about to transform that valley into a gateway of blessing. When my father went to be with the Lord, I was in a valley of loss, a valley of sadness. And after many years, I realize it was a valley of increase. That valley launched me to a new level. When my mother faced cancer, that was a valley of illness, a valley of pain. But now, 40 years later, she says that was a valley of breakthrough, a valley where God helped her defeat a giant.
7) God has not brought you this far to leave you
When three major armies surrounded King Jehoshaphat and the people of Judah, they didn’t have a chance. But God confused those armies, and they destroyed each other. The people of Judah went in and gathered up all the spoils. Jehoshaphat named that place the valley of blessing.
Things may be tough right now. Stay encouraged. One day, you’re going to say like him, “That was a valley of blessing.” God is working behind the scenes in your life. He hasn’t brought you this far to leave you. He sees the tears, the injustice. That valley of trouble is about to be transformed into a gateway of hope—a gateway of healing.
It may be uncomfortable now, but the valley is necessary. God is using it to take you to a new level. Now, do your part, praise him in the valley. Keep a good attitude in the valley. Be good to others in the valley. You’re going to defeat much bigger giants. Like Elisha, you’re going to see water without rain. God is about to do things you can’t explain—unusual favor, healing, restoration, and breakthroughs.
Get ready. You’re about to go from the valley to victory in Jesus’ name.
Inspired by Joel Osteen Sermon
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