The Valleys of Growth

May 24, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Hiding in the Back Row of First Baptist

When life’s chaos becomes too loud, we often retreat to familiar routines while our hearts remain distant. The back row becomes both a refuge and a prison – a place to check religious boxes while anger replays and isolation grows. Yet even here, God’s question lingers: What are you doing in this cave of half-hearted obedience? [02:42]

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.
(Psalm 34:18, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you settled for “checking boxes” with God instead of bringing your full heart? What would it look like to move one seat closer to authentic engagement today?

Day 2: The Whisper After the Fire Dies Down

Elijah expected God in dramatic displays, but true communion came in stillness. Our valleys strip away the whirlwind of radio chatter, 3AM replays, and text message dramas to make space for the one voice that matters. Healing begins when we stop fanning flames of outrage to hear the question beneath the questions. [16:52]

And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.
(1 Kings 19:11-12, ESV)

Reflection: What “loud” circumstance have you been staring at this week? How might you create 10 minutes of uninterrupted silence to listen for God’s whisper today?

Day 3: Divided Between Past Faithfulness and Present Pain

Elijah’s mind ricocheted between fire-from-heaven memories and Jezebel’s death threats. Our valleys often split us between “But God did…” and “But now I feel…” – between rehearsing arguments and recalling miracles. The healing question isn’t “Why?” but “Will you trust me with what’s broken?” [09:26]

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
(James 4:8, ESV)

Reflection: Where do you feel most divided between God’s past faithfulness and present pain? What one hurt could you surrender from “I’ll handle this” to “I’ll bring this to You” today?

Day 4: Releasing the “Dixie Chicks” Theology of Bitterness

Holding onto “I’m not ready to make nice” keeps our wounds fresh and God’s voice muffled. Like Elijah’s cave, back rows become echo chambers for grievances. But valleys expose how our rehearsed arguments chain us to the past. Freedom comes when we answer God’s question instead of justifying our stance. [24:27]

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.
(Matthew 11:28-30, ESV)

Reflection: What specific hurt have you been “not ready to make nice” about? What practical step could you take this week to loosen your grip on that story?

Day 5: Proximity on the Back Row Becomes a Pulpit

Transformation begins when back-row hiding shifts to leaning in. That first step toward a men’s ministry signup sheet, the cracked-open Bible during night feeds, the tentative prayer – these become holy ground. Valleys don’t end when storms cease, but when we let whispered grace redirect our journey. [29:02]

But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
(Philippians 3:13-14, ESV)

Reflection: What “back row” space in your life is God inviting you to use as a starting line? How could you take one concrete step toward active trust before sundown today?

Sermon Summary

First Kings 19 carries Elijah from the fire on Carmel to the cave on Horeb and shows how God grows a life in a valley. God has already fed Elijah by ravens, stretched oil and flour in a widow’s kitchen, shut the skies by Elijah’s word, and sent fire that licked up water and altar. Elijah still runs from Jezebel and lands in exhaustion, isolation, and fear. The angel touches him, feeds him twice, and sends him on a forty-day journey to Horeb, the mountain where Moses met God at the bush and received the tablets. God’s question greets him there, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” and Elijah answers with the speech of a divided heart, part faith and part fear, sure God is real and just as sure he is alone and under threat.

The wind tears rock but the Lord is not in the wind. The earthquake shakes the ground but the Lord is not in the earthquake. The fire blazes hot but the Lord is not in the fire. After the fire, a low whisper comes, and the whisper draws Elijah out to the cave’s mouth, to the very place he had stopped short of when God first told him to go. The valley works like God’s noise-canceling headphones. The wind names the chaotic churn of life, the late-night racing thoughts, the incoming mortar of drama and shifting orders. The earthquake pictures the wheels falling off, when a diagnosis, a job loss, or a shattered trust makes the ground give way. The fire burns like anger and bitterness, a white-hot chest that keeps old arguments alive and calls it righteous.

God’s whisper answers all three. The whisper does not shame; it locates, steadies, and calls: “What are you doing here?” The question exposes the split mind that lives between God’s past faithfulness and a present fear and invites the step from hiding to listening. Battle valleys teach hypervigilant souls that the body cannot tell yesterday’s fight from today’s bed, so God asks for the weapon in the hand and the story on repeat. Hunger valleys uncover hollowness and become the place where intimacy grows and God feeds the soul. Relational valleys reveal how anger hardens into bitterness until bitterness is louder than God, and the whisper asks for release and trust.

God’s way out starts with proximity. Scripture in the lap, knees on the floor, heart poured out without polish. As the wind dies down, the earthquake settles, and the fire goes out, the gentle voice becomes clear. God takes a back-row hideout and, over time, turns it into a calling.

Key Takeaways

1. Valleys are fertile ground with God Valleys are not dead ends but places where God pulls a life close and speaks with clarity that busier seasons drown out. The low place removes competing noise and makes room for depth, focus, and honesty. What feels like delay becomes the field where roots finally take. The outcome is intimacy, not waste. [00:14]
2. Noise is not where God speaks The wind, earthquake, and fire look decisive, but they often only mirror a heart’s panic. God refuses to be found in the loud when the loud only fuels control, reactivity, or spectacle. The Lord chooses the quiet so the soul must actually attend to him rather than to adrenaline. The path forward begins when a person stops obeying the noise. [09:10]
3. The whisper heals a divided heart The gentle voice meets the split between remembered faithfulness and current fear. In the whisper, God asks again and again, “What are you doing here?” to relocate a person from the cave to the entrance, from hiding to hearing. The whisper does not overpower; it invites consent, trust, and the next obedient step. [16:52]
4. God’s question unmasks hiding and fear “What are you doing here?” is not a trap but a mirror that shows where a person has stopped short. The question exposes the bargains, the excuses, and the back-row strategies that keep a soul safe but small. Once named, the hiding place loses power, and the way opens to stand where God told a person to stand. [27:07]
5. Proximity to God begins release Release is not a mood but a movement toward Scripture, prayer, and open-handed honesty before God. Proximity retrains the heart’s reflexes, shifting attention from the offender and the wound to the One who heals. Over time, closeness rewrites the story and turns bitterness into intercession and calling. [25:24]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:14] - Valleys are fertile, not dead ends
[00:34] - Deployment highs and lows
[02:31] - Exhausted, isolated, ready to quit
[04:23] - Valleys are not wasted
[05:06] - Elijah’s history of provision
[06:48] - Angel strengthens for Horeb
[09:10] - Wind, earthquake, fire pass by
[16:52] - The low whisper
[19:32] - Battle valleys and hypervigilance
[21:37] - Hunger valleys and intimacy
[22:28] - Relational valleys and bitterness
[24:58] - Go to church for a Savior
[25:24] - Proximity to the Lord
[29:58] - Listen and draw close

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
1 Kings 19:7-14 (ESV)
[The primary text for the sermon, detailing Elijah’s journey to Horeb and encounter with God’s whisper.]

Observation Questions

In 1 Kings 19:11-12, what three dramatic natural phenomena occur before God speaks, and what does this reveal about how God chose to communicate with Elijah?
The sermon describes valleys as places where God removes "competing noise" to speak clearly. What specific examples of "noise" (wind, earthquake, fire) were linked to modern struggles like anxiety, betrayal, or anger? [11:47]
How did Elijah’s response to God’s question, “What are you doing here?” (1 Kings 19:9, 13) reveal his divided heart between faith and fear?

Interpretation Questions

Why might God have directed Elijah to Horeb, the same mountain where Moses encountered Him (Exodus 3, 34), instead of answering him immediately in the wilderness?
The sermon compares the “whisper” to God’s “noise-canceling headphones” in valleys. How does this metaphor explain why difficult seasons can deepen intimacy with God? [18:53]
Elijah repeats the same complaint to God twice (1 Kings 19:10, 14). What does this repetition suggest about the relationship between honesty and spiritual growth in valleys?

Application Questions

What “cave” are you currently hiding in (isolation, bitterness, numbness) that God might be asking, “What are you doing here?” How could stepping to the “entrance” of that cave look practically? [20:38]
The sermon describes bitterness as “louder than God’s voice.” Is there a hurt or anger you’ve rehearsed for so long that it drowns out God’s whisper? What would releasing it require? [22:28]
What daily practices (Scripture, prayer, silence) could help you tune out the “wind, earthquake, and fire” of life’s chaos to hear God’s voice more clearly? [25:24]
When have you experienced a valley that later became a place of spiritual growth? How might your current struggle be preparing you for a future calling? [04:23]
The sermon warns that “the body cannot tell yesterday’s fight from today’s bed.” What practical step could you take this week to stop reliving past battles and rest in God’s presence? [19:32]

Sermon Clips

32s

#ValleyOfIntimacy

“Maybe your valley is a hunger valley. You're experiencing loneliness. You're experiencing financial strain. You're experiencing marital pressure, and you don't know how to deal with that. These valleys expose how empty we really are. These valleys are where intimacy with God grows. These valleys are where we need to stop pretending and simply come close to God.”

36s

#StillSmallVoice

“He removes all the dramatic stuff that we're dealing with. And when he shows up, he shows up in a still small voice. See, valleys take away every competing voice. Valleys take away the things that you don't hear from God because you're focusing on all of these loud, obnoxious things. Valleys take all that away so that you can hear the voice of God.”

31s

#FromBackRowToCalling

“For a year almost we sat on that back row. For a year we we we said we'll never get involved again and then next thing you know my wife is working on staff at the church with the youth office. And then a year later I'm leading the men's ministry. And a decade later I'm preaching the gospel as a pastor. I don't know what your decade from now looks like, but I hope that it starts today.”

31s

#BackRowCheckTheBox

“I was exhausted, I was isolated and honestly I wanted to quit. You know what? I did. I quit and here's what quitting looked like in our season of life there, it was on the back row at First Baptist Church O'Fallon. You know there's a lot of rows in that church and and I found the back row every Sunday. See I wanted to check the box off that I was going to church but my heart wasn't there.”

45s

#DividedHeartBetweenHurtAndFaith

“Because at that same time I was processing a deep church hurt, betrayed by people I trusted and the anger that I carried became a constant storm every day. It was in my head, it was in my heart, it was in the actions that I lived out. I replayed every conversation, I rehearsed every argument, you see my heart was divided between what I knew God had done and I had seen God do many incredible things even through that deployment I watched God work incredibly, but my heart was divided between seeing those high mountain top experiences and experiencing the bitterness that I refused to release.”

32s

#GoForTheSavior

“You know, there's many people today in the city of Mascouta. There's many people certainly in the state of Illinois. There's many people across the country that refuse to walk through the doors of a church because of hurt hurt that has happened to them. It's real. It happens. But I want you to hear me. Don't ever not go to church because of a person. Go to a church because of a savior.”

33s

#HidingInTheBigChurch

“But the reality is the reason why I was there, I was hiding. When we moved to this area, it was in the middle of all this pain, and while I did not want to go to church, I knew I needed to go to church. And so I did what every clear thinking man does. I went to a church that nobody would know me. I went to the biggest church I could find, and I thought for sure I can hide here.”

33s

#IDontWantToLetGo

“And so pastor Steve said that you need to let it go, I said these words to a man who loved me, a man who cared for me, a man who only had the best intentions at heart, and I said this, I don't want to. Pastor Steve was a wise pastor. He stopped the conversation. We're we're together for six hours that day. This happened at about hour one. He never brought it up again.”

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Mascoutah First Baptist Church This sermon · AI assistant

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The Valleys of Growth

Devotional

Day 1: Hiding in the Back Row of First Baptist

Day 2: The Whisper After the Fire Dies Down

Day 3: Divided Between Past Faithfulness and Present Pain

Day 4: Releasing the “Dixie Chicks” Theology of Bitterness

Day 5: Proximity on the Back Row Becomes a Pulpit

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

The Valleys of Growth

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