From Strength to Strength

Psa 84:5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.
Psa 84:6 Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.
Psa 84:7 They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.

God's strength is made perfect in our weakness. Paul's thorn in the flesh allowed him to discover that He giveth more grace. Joseph's prison experience was needful to bring him to power. Moses' 40 years on the back side of the desert prepped him for leadership of Israel.

The life stories of almost every major character in the Bible follow the same pattern, man's weakness proves God's strength. Valleys give way to mountain tops.

It is said that no great servant of the Lord has not, at some time, been through great trials of affliction, in order to temper him/her for service for Christ.

Perhaps you have personal knowledge of this process taking place in your own experience.

In the 84th Psalm, we are given this picture of a man going from one mountain top to another. However, in between he had to travel through the valley of weeping.

I have found that in between strengths, during those valley experiences, we learn to appreciate the good times. We find ourselves depending on the Lord, developing our prayer lives, learning valuable life lessons, relating more readily to the hurts of others and acquiring patience.

We loathe to experience the valley as we equally long for the mountaintop. But to get from one strength to the next, we generally have to travel through Baca.

Make the most out of your valleys on the way to your next strength.