"Look out for the devil at the foot of the mountain," to quote another. What did he mean by that?
Elijah could tell you. He went up on a mountain, and there he challenged the heathen prophets of Baal. There God showed He was alive by consuming Elijah's sacrifice with fire from heaven. While all the forlorn prophets of Baal watched in chagrin, the miraculous tongues of fire even licked up the water in the trench around the altar!
Few men will experience the thrill of triumph Elijah must have felt as he ran down the mountain, passing King Ahab's chariot in the rain that had come in answer to his prayer. See 1 Kings 18:17-4617And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? 18And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father's house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim. 19Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel's table. 20So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel. 21And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word. 22Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the Lord; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men. 23Let them therefore give us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: 24And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken. 25And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire under. 26And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made. 27And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked. 28And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them. 29And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded. 30And Elijah said unto all the people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that was broken down. 31And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the Lord came, saying, Israel shall be thy name: 32And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed. 33And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood. 34And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time. 35And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water. 36And it came to pass at the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. 37Hear me, O Lord, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the Lord God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. 38Then the fire of the Lord fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. 39And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God. 40And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there. 41And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain. 42So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees, 43And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times. 44And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not. 45And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel. 46And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel. (1 Kings 18:17‑46).
At the bottom of the mountain, however, discouragement came. Queen Jezebel threatened his life, and Elijah hid under a juniper tree, praying to die.
It seems amazing that Elijah would become so upset by Jezebel's threat, after what he had just seen God do. But human emotions are irrational. Discouragement is one of the devil's favorite tools, and often defeats a Christian.
New converts will find the devil waiting at the bottom of their mountaintop experience with temptations, lies, and discouragement.
Satan walks about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Have you ever seen an intensely hungry lion? I was at the zoo one afternoon at feeding time. The lions were pacing back and forth in their cages, growling. Saliva dripped in long threads as the lions worked their tongues around their mouths, eyeing the zoo visitors. When meat was thrown in by the zoo keeper, they all pounced on it at once.
The devil is as eager to attack you as is a hungry lion. He waits to ambush both the mature Christian, and the new convert at the bottom of the mountain. Often he attacks the mature Christian after a particular victory. He especially loves to get an entire assembly discouraged at the same time. That way, results of blessing soon fade.
Moses found the results of Satan's work when he came down from Mount Sinai after having a tremendous experience with God, and receiving the ten commandments. He found the people had greatly sinned. But Moses did not give up. He knew there were many Israelites who would still serve the Lord, so he persevered in prayer for them.
Christians need to be prepared to fight the lion at the bottom of the mountain, just as Moses did. Moses caused all who were not on the Lord's side to be slain.
Today we cannot solve our problems by slaying individuals who give us trouble. But we can become fully aware that Satan is out to get us, and we can recognize discouragement as the devil's work when it comes. We can obey the scripture, "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (Jas. 4:77Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)).
Often everything looks drab in the valley. Monstrous mountains of despair, worry, and doubt rise to cast their shadows and block our view. Instead of praying to die, as Elijah did, we can begin our fight for victory by counting our blessings and thanking God for what He has already done.
The Lord Jesus Christ promised He would never leave nor forsake us. He is with us, even at the bottom of the mountain. He will help us climb to the heights of joy and gladness. He will give us victory, for He is "God of the valleys" as well as "God of the hills" (1 Kings 20:2828And there came a man of God, and spake unto the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith the Lord, Because the Syrians have said, The Lord is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that I am the Lord. (1 Kings 20:28)).