How to Find Gratitude in the Valley
Is there room for gratitude in life’s lowest points? Learn how faith can flourish in hard times and the transformative ways to give thanks amidst struggles. Dive into a spiritual exploration that answers if God is just a refuge in turmoil or a constant presence in every season of life.
The Mountain without God, or the Valley With Him
In Dane C. Ortlund’s book, In the Lord I Take Refuge when analyzing Psalm 23, he poses the question: “Would you rather have the mountaintop experience without God or the dark valley with Him?”
Of course, we want to be with God in the valley.
For believers, it’s an easy answer at the surface level, but what happens when we start digging beyond our immediate response? What happens when we begin bumping against our personal security measures? Financial stability? Close and bonded ties? Flourishing relationships?
In my spiritual journey, I’ve struggled with the concept that I run to God when things get complicated. While that may sound like the correct thing to do, my concerns stem from my intentionality. Am I only running to God because I know that He’s all-powerful to fix the situation, or am I living in a space of worship that expresses gratitude that I have a deeper reason to lean into Him?
Cultivating a grateful heart is easy when times are good, but it can be a muddy, washed-out road when things are tough. It can feel impossible to address our overflowing cup of blessings when all we see are our cups tipped over to spilled drinks.
If nothing else, the spiritual dependency I’ve questioned is a reminder that God is there for me on the mountaintops AND in the valleys. However, I’ve repeatedly discovered that it’s amid the valleys that I find my relationship with God flourishes the most. It’s because the valley is where the water dumped by the heavens collect and pool in my life. It’s a place where there may not be much sunlight, but as the mountains tower in the distance, it’s only from the valley that I can see the heavens with the greatest perspective of their breadth and expanse.
So, let’s look at three ways we can express gratitude while in the valley.
3 Ways to Give God Gratitude From the Valley
1) Cast Your Anxiety
“Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you; He will never permit the righteous to be moved.” Psalm 55:22 (emphasis added)
The word cast is not merely a soft underhand pitch adjacent to a children’s baseball game. To cast something means to toss at great lengths. We’re talking about a distance that makes you stop and think, “Do I really want to go all the way over there to grab that?” It’s sort of like that place where the television remote always is after a long day, and you just sat down on the couch to unwind.
For us to cast our burdens away means we have to cast them to something or someone. If you throw a ball aimlessly against a wall, it’ll bounce right back to you. But what if someone is on the other side of the room to catch it?
JESUS: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
Punt your anxieties and concerns to God. We are to cast them into His loving care with the intention of never looking back. That’s not because we live a careless life, but it’s because we trust whose hands they are in. There’s no need to revisit them because the Creator of the Universe has dictated He is in control. Our burdens are His now, and we don’t need to worry about it.
As great as it sounds to cast our burdens to the Lord, as believers, especially seasoned believers, it can become commonplace to expect that. It’s a repeat message that’s been dwelt on ad nauseam. However, in a spirit of gratitude, Scripture repeatedly reminds us that God is with us and wants our trust.
“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.” Psalm 23:4
This kind of gracious burden unloading isn’t a normal reaction for deities or philosophies. Other religions and schools of thought put the onus on you to find inner peace and separate yourself from the issues that plague you. However, Jesus gladly took these on. He went to the cross, died a criminal death, descended to hell for three days, and when He rose again, He did it all for you and your valley. It was so that when we stumble down from the mountaintop, He can walk beside us.
2) Look to the Flowers
JESUS: “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” Luke 12:27
You’d be hard-pressed to find someone who hasn’t struggled with worry or anxiety and turned to this passage for comfort. But when we step back under the guise of gratitude, we must acknowledge that our concerns can be a sleight to Jesus’ mighty hand.
Our gratitude is often based on the expense of receiving. We say thank you when the waiter brings our meal. We say thank you when our friend gives us a gift. We say thank you when a family member compliments our outfit. Or we even say thank you to a pastor when they hear us confess and share our hearts.
As we stand at the valley basin, we cry out for rescue, and our circumstances can pull us from a place of worship to self-importance. In our mind, there’s nothing more important than correcting our situation so we can get back to the mountaintop. But when we don’t immediately return, our minds spiral, anxiety spikes, and we start looking to make the way ourselves.
But what if we stopped to look at the flowers and consider their plight? They exist in splendor and beauty. They grow and reach for the heavens. When it’s their time to cease, they are no more. Sure, they’re not sentient beings, but Jesus says even the stones cry out to worship the Father.
The beauty of God’s excellence is all around us. We’re reminded that if God is so loving to tend to the flowers, how will He remember you? It’s with a grateful heart that we can rest in the assurance that if the flowers and birds are tended to by the Father, so are you.
While you may be in the valley, so is the Father. He is there to teach and prosper you. When we have a grateful heart, those lessons make themselves known more readily, and we can take a moment to appreciate the goodness and beauty that surrounds us. So, take time to look at the flowers in their beauty and be reminded of how much more God values your life and circumstances.
3) Look to the Past
“And beware lest you raise your eyes to heaven, and when you see the sun and the moon and the stars, all the host of heaven, you be drawn away and bow down to them and serve them, things that the LORD your God has allotted to all the peoples under the whole heaven.” Deuteronomy 4:19
Have you ever considered the significance of the sun rising every morning? It’s almost so consistent that it can become pure background noise. But it’s no simple or small task. A giant ball of fire that not only keeps us properly heated but also maintains our gravitational pull and prevents us from spiraling into oblivion.
For my entire life, and I’d imagine for yours too, the sun has hung in the sky daily. I’ve been told it was there even before I was born, too! And in all likelihood, it will still hang in the sky long after I’ve passed on.
The earth is a steady reminder of how the Lord has provided over and over. From the daily rising sun to nature’s beauty, not to mention the accommodations of our basic needs, evidence of God’s hand is everywhere.
This doesn’t even account for the grand gestures in your life that God has shared. From work promotions, welcoming children and grandchildren, emotional and physical healing, and so forth. No matter our level of destitution or flourishing, there is always something in our past that we can point to in gratitude, and that’s how Jesus has demonstrated Himself over and over.
In the Psalms, which are exultations of Jesus’ name, the word “refuge” is mentioned more than 40 times. From phrases like “take refuge in Him” to “be a rock of refuge for me,” we see that God constantly provides a safe haven for us. When we’re in the darkest moments of our lives, God is available to provide refuge once again. Through His mercy and sovereignty, He will see you through, and you’ll have a new opportunity to review His graciousness.
Our history with God, as well as the history of saints that came before us, should be a place of encouragement and a blunt reminder of the trials He’s already delivered us from. When we question how He could ever work in our mess, it’s our own story that should serve as the answer. We can be filled with gratitude to know that He’s done it once, and He’ll do it again.
The Transfiguration of Your Life
Matthew 17 speaks to the literal highs and lows of our life.
Taking Peter, James, and John to the top of a mountain, Jesus reveals His true and radiant glory to a select few of His favored disciples. It was surely an overwhelming moment of worship and excitement. To be so close to the revelation of God and experience His presence literally shining on you. It had to be a peak moment in life.
However, what happens next is the truest reflection of life.
Upon descending the mountain, they faced a boy possessed by demons. Can you imagine the disappointment of exiting such a perfect place and moment? They were thrown back into the harsh brutalities of the world and our fallen status as humans. Our life isn’t very different, is it? We even have several cliches to describe it, “Waiting for the other shoe to drop,” or “Can’t have your cake and eat it too.”
Let the Transfiguration be an encouragement for you. For every mountain, there is a valley we will return to, but that doesn’t mean God is absent. As the story unfolds, Jesus rebukes the demon and returns the boy’s life to him and his father.
So if you’re in the valley of darkness, how can we be reassured that God’s presence will help us? Ortlund answers:
“We know that Jesus Christ walked through the ultimate valley of the shadow of death, the darkness of condemnation and hell—a fate that should have landed on us. The result is that in our temporary dark valleys, we can know that despite our sin and failure, God will bring us, in full moral integrity, to be with Him forever.”
Take comfort and find gratitude. Your Savior is with you.
TL;DR
How do we embrace gratitude and faith in God even during difficult times?
While it's easy to be grateful when things are going well, true spiritual growth and a deeper connection with God often occur during life's "valleys" — the challenging periods.
Three ways to express gratitude in tough times:
By casting anxieties onto God
Reflecting on the simple beauty and care of nature as exemplified by the lilies
Looking back at one’s past to remember God’s consistent provision
Don't seeing God only as a refuge during turmoil but as a constant companion in all of life's seasons.
Related Reading
The Four Postures of a Grateful Heart by Bro. Chris Carter
A Seat for Everyone by Grant Caldwell