"As they go through the valley of Baca, they will make it a place of springs..." Psalm 84:6
Google Baca, and get inspiration. Baca is the place of weeping. A place where the trees are known to "weep" resin and sap. Possibly the verse is just talking about a difficult season vs. an actual place. Make sure to notice that Baca isn't a destination in the verse, but a place to travel through. We aren't stuck in it.
Don't forget the verse says that it will be a place that springs life. The place of weeping will become a well.
Other valleys come to mind like this: "...make the Valley of Anchor a door of hope." Hosea 2:15
All throughout the Bible, there's a theme of horrible turned into amazing. Sorrow upgraded to Joy. I'll let you think through the Stories, and latch on your own favorite one where God brought joy to someone struggling.
Let's zoom in on the verses that touch on the topic of joy:
"Do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength." Nehemiah 8:10
"In your presence there is fullness of joy." Psalms 16:11
"Weeping may last for the night, but joy comes in the morning." Psalms 30:5
"...to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;" Isaiah 61:3
"Joy shall be in Heaven over one sinner who repents, more than over 99 just who need no repentance." Luke 15:7
"These things have I spoken into you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full." John 15:11
I could stop here and just have all of us meditate on these verses, but I'm seeing a few truths.
Nick Ripken quoted the "But joy comes in the morning" verse, and talked about how it didn't come in Somalia. My personal experience is that it certainly doesn't come in 12 hours like a literal morning does. This doesn't nullify the truth of the verse, but reality is that we don't necessarily find joy in circumstances.
What I often miss is that joy is found in His presence. Jesus shared the secret to joy in John 15: abiding in Him. Our circumstances may never change, and we may always have drama, but we don't need to define life by it. We need to fix our eyes on the Only One who can bring deep joy, and not get distracted by the trials, craziness and whatever curve ball comes.
His joy is our strength. We might go through the Valley of Baca, but He needs to be our destination. Finding Him is enough to carry us through.
We can trade our sorrows for the joy of the Lord as the song goes. So how does that happen? Focus on Him. Meditation on verses. Surrender to letting Him do it on His time. He keeps His promises.
