The Summits of Success and the Valleys of Victory

UV 1467/10,000 The Summits and the Valleys of Victory
Then shall the virgin rejoice in the dance, both young men and old together: for I will turn their mourning into joy, and will comfort them, and make them rejoice from their sorrow.
Jeremiah 31 v 13
When we face problems we ought to rejoice for we are at the brink of witnessing and experiencing miracles. Without challenges how would the Lord’s grace, mercy and power be revealed? Problems and challenges are opportunities for the Lord to turn our mourning into joy, to comfort us with His presence and His Word. We can therefore rejoice in the midst of our sorrow. With our finite understanding and narrow perspectives, we only celebrate the summits of success but the Lord is closer to us when we are walking in the valleys. The Lord builds our character while we are trudging up and struggling in the valleys. These are the valleys of our victories which are more significant than even the summits of our success.

It is during the valley days that we listen more intently to the Lord and lean more heavily on Him. He is able to write His law in our inner parts and sanctify us. He teaches us and builds our strength and stamina. He whispers in our inner ears of our spirits, “ Fear not. I am with you. I will strengthen you. I will uphold you. I will help you. I will hold you with the right hand of my righteousness.” It is in the valleys of victory that the Lord refines us as silver and purifies us as gold. On the summits of success, our flesh and minds rejoices in the blessings of the Lord but in the valleys of victory, our spirit rejoices in the Lord Himself. He will give us the anointing of joy instead of mourning. He will replace the spirit of heaviness with the garment of praise. He will gird us with gladness or surround us with His wonderful promises and certain hope in all directions.

When our heart rejoices in the Lord, no man can take it away. The summits of success are pedestals on which we should look back at the paths the Lord has brought us and thank Him with gladness. Every moment and effort of our struggles are as worthy of celebration and joy as the moments of success. The greatest valley of victory lies between the two highest mountain peaks of success. In short, the greatest struggles and challenges we faced in our lives are the source of highest joy of victory. My greatest victory was how the Lord helped me overcome the trauma I literally faced in the valley of the shadow of death as I lay injured next to the mangled remains of the former Prime Minister in the world’s first human bomb assassination. The summits of success was when the Lord enabled me to be selected into the Indian Police Service and when I won the Queen’s Award for Innovation. As I lay badly injured with sorrow and mourning all around, the Lord prepared me for the valley of victory over the next couple of years.

Prateep V Philip