In the Christian life, there are mountaintops — and there are valleys.

In Matthew 17, the disciples have just witnessed the glory of Jesus revealed on the mountain. But now the scene shifts. Where the mountain revealed the glory of Jesus, the valley now exposes the weakness of the disciples. And in many ways, that’s the rhythm of the Christian life. Joy and sorrow are both part of the journey. But often it’s the valleys that help us understand the mountaintops. It’s in the difficult places that what God revealed in the high places begins to make sense.