Passing Through the Valley of Baca: Finding God in Painful Seasons (Psalm 84)

What should you do when life leads you through a season of tears? Psalm 84 says God's people passed through the Valley of Baca, a name that means weeping, and made it a place of springs. Your painful season is real, but it is a place you pass through, not a permanent home. God can strengthen you, teach you, and use you in the middle of it.

What is the Valley of Baca in Psalm 84?

The Valley of Baca is a hot, dry stretch of road that pilgrims crossed on their way to worship in Zion. In Hebrew, Baca means weeping or tears. Deuteronomy 16 instructed God's people to travel to Jerusalem three times a year, and they made that difficult trip on foot, with their whole families and all their water carried on camels.

Joel Schmidgall, who grew up at Calvary Church, preached this psalm while his own family was walking through painful news. His brother Robb had recently been diagnosed with ALS, and Joel admitted he spent most of a week choked up in private and in public, asking God what was happening. During a staff prayer retreat, Psalm 84 came back to him.

Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.

Psalm 84:5 to 7

In the Old Testament, places were often named for what happened there. This valley was called weeping for a reason: travelers arrived exhausted, with nothing left to give.

Why does the road to blessing go through pain?

To get to Zion, every traveler had to go through Baca. Pastor Joel described it as a triple truth: to reach the mountaintop, you cross the valley, and to reach a place of blessing, you usually pass through a place of pain. Every one of us will walk through Baca at some point in life.

So what is your Baca? Maybe you recently lost a job, or you are separated from a family member, or a medical report came back discouraging. Maybe you feel lonely and misunderstood at school. Whatever your situation, God has a purpose even in this difficult season.

How do you strengthen yourself in the Lord?

You find strength by binding yourself to God, because Psalm 84:5 calls the people whose strength is in Him blessed. Isaiah describes the same promise.

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

Isaiah 40:31 (KJV)

Pastor Joel explained that the Hebrew idea behind wait includes binding yourself to the Lord. For example, in a Middle Eastern vineyard, a weak vine that falls to the ground loses its fruit. So the vinedresser lifts the vine and ties it to the trellis above it, and whatever weather comes, the vine stays whole and bears fruit. To wait on the Lord is to tie your life to Him so He can hold you up.

Sometimes you also need to encourage yourself in the Lord. When David lost everything at Ziklag, "David encouraged himself in the Lord his God" (1 Samuel 30:6, KJV). Reciting Psalm 23 to yourself during a hard moment is one way to strengthen your own soul.

Why does it matter where you're going?

Pastor Joel's second way through Baca is to know your destination. Knowing where you're going keeps you from settling down in the valley. A pilgrimage is a long walk toward a holy destination, and the pilgrims in Psalm 84 had their hearts set on it. You might pitch a tent in Baca, but you would never pour a foundation there. The psalm opens by naming that destination: "How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty!" (Psalm 84:1).

You already know where you are right now, but you also need to remember where you're going. This is something you are going through, not the place you are going to. When the enemy whispers that this pain is your destiny, you can respond with confidence: this is not my ending place.

How can you praise God when you're hurting?

You persevere with praise. Psalm 84 was written by the sons of Korah, who served as Levite singers. Their ancestor had rebelled, but his descendants returned to God and wrote songs for His people, and pilgrims sang this psalm on the road to remember where they were going.

Worship lifts your eyes from your own strength to His power. As Pastor Joel described it, worship moves you "from I can't to He can, He will, He did, and He still does," and it picks your spirit back up.

He also pointed to King Saul, who found peace only when David played and worshiped nearby (1 Samuel 16). When Saul walked away, the peace disappeared with him. Many of us feel refreshed in church on Sunday and lose that feeling by Monday. The answer is to bring your own worship to God every day instead of borrowing someone else's.

Can something good come from your pain?

Yes. Pastor Joel's fourth way through Baca is to be fruitful in the land of suffering. The pilgrims reached Baca thirsty, and that thirst pushed them to dig wells, so the valley of weeping became a place of springs.

Some people pass through the valley of weeping and it changes them, while others pass through it and change the valley. The wells you dig are mostly for the people who come behind you. Paul says God comforts us "so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God" (2 Corinthians 1:4).

You dig, and God pours, just as the autumn rains covered the valley with pools. Pastor Joel said it plainly: we ask God for a miracle, and sometimes God tells us to pick up a shovel and get to work.

Consider David and Goliath. After that battle, David fought with Goliath's own sword, so the weapon raised against him became a weapon in his hand. Isaiah 54:17 says, "No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper." It doesn't promise that no weapon will be formed; it promises that the weapon will not succeed.

What does faith look like in the valley?

Faith in the valley looks like peace that doesn't depend on the outcome. Pastor Joel shared a video from his brother Robb, who said it is easy to blame God in dark moments, but God's goodness isn't limited to the good things in life. God sits with you in the darkness too. Robb's family is believing for a miracle, and his message is simple: Jesus can give your soul peace, whatever you face.

Verse 7 says pilgrims "go from strength to strength." The strain of Baca builds strength in you, and when you come through, you will carry a testimony that encourages others.

Common questions

What does Baca mean in the Bible?

Baca is a Hebrew word that means weeping or tears. The Valley of Baca in Psalm 84:6 was a dry valley on the pilgrim road to Jerusalem. The psalm says God's people made it a place of springs as they passed through.

What does "from strength to strength" mean in Psalm 84:7?

It describes pilgrims growing stronger along the way, even through the most difficult stretch of the road. The strain of a painful season can build strength in you when your strength is in God.

Why does God allow painful seasons?

Scripture repeatedly shows God using painful stories to build up His people. A painful season can strengthen you, teach you, and prepare you to comfort others with the comfort you receive from God (2 Corinthians 1:4).

How do I keep worshiping when I'm hurting?

Start small and make worship personal. Read a psalm out loud, sing one song, or thank God for one specific blessing. Worship moves your attention from your own limitations to what God is able to do.