There is a phrase in Psalm 84:5 that arrests my attention. It says

“How blessed is the man whose strength is in You.”

When I read that, two prayers rise up from within my heart. The first one is, “Oh yes, Lord, that is so true! When you strengthen me and I walk by that strength it is a joyous life indeed!”

But the second one is, “Oh but Lord, I so often fail to live in Your strength. Help me to do that, even today!”

I know the blessedness (and by the way, that word ‘blessed’ could be written ‘happy’) - I know the happiness of trusting in God’s strength and moving through the challenges of my day and life with Him enabling me step by step. It is a happy way to live. There is real joy there! There is a satisfaction that can’t be found in tackling problems on my own.

So, if that is true, if it is a happy way to live, then why do I slip so readily back into the pattern of trusting in myself and leaning on my own strength?!

Well, the answer to that has something to do with our sinfulness - the reality of what sin has done to us. Even when we taste the joy of right living we often find ourselves naturally slipping back into patterns of wrong living.

And when that happens, God often intervenes with trials. He often leads us to and through a “Valley of Baca.”

Look at the context of that verse I quoted above.

“How blessed is the man whose strength is in You, in whose heart are the highways to Zion! Passing through the valley of Baca they make it a spring; the early rain also covers it with blessings. They go from strength to strength, every one of them appears before God in Zion.” Psalm 84:5-7

In Hebrew the word ‘baca’ means ‘weeping.’ Isn’t that interesting? God causes us to pass through a valley of difficulty so great that we shed tears. It is a valley of tears. But then, “they make it a spring.” What an incredibly creative way of illustrating what God does in our lives through trials! As our tears fall to the ground, they come back up again as springs of life-giving water!

What happens down in the valley of tears? I know what happens. I’ve dwelt there myself. My difficulty presses me back to God. In my pain I acknowledge to God that I am inadequate to conquer the challenge before me. And in that frame of heart, I lean again in real definite faith upon God. And right there - I find His strength again enabling me. Once again, my strength is in Him…and I am happy. (The trial, by the way, may still be present, but the happiness is now present too!).

And then, I go from strength to strength. And in that way, I reach heaven.

Are you suffering right now? Are you facing a struggle that has got the best of you? Are you in a valley, a valley of tears? If so, learn there to find God as your strength. As you do, your tears will become springs, your weakness will become the platform for His strength to be magnified, and happiness will return to you.