From Mountain High to Valley Low
From Mountain High to Valley Low “Gideon made the gold into a sacred ephod and put it on display in his hometown, Ophrah. All Israel prostituted itself there. Gideon and his family, too, were seduced by it.” (Judges 8:27) Many victories have quietly turned into defeats—not because the battle was lost, but because the heart was unguarded after the win. Some people rise into success so suddenly that they never develop the discipline, humility, and awareness needed to sustain it. They skip the process of growing through failure and land abruptly in success, unprepared for its weight. There is wisdom in growth that is gradual. When God builds, He often starts small—allowing strength, character, and dependence on Him to develop over time. Growth is not just about reaching higher; it is about becoming deeper. Gideon had just secured a remarkable victory for Israel. Yet, in the aftermath, he gathered gold from the spoils and fashioned an ephod—something that became a spiritual trap. What ...