Before the apostle Paul begins to tell the Ephesians about all the armor of God that they will need to fight against their spiritual enemies, he says, "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might." (Eph. 6:10). 

Here is the secret of spiritual strength according to the word of God. The apostle Paul writes, "When I am weak, then I am strong." He says this because God's strength is made perfect only in realized weakness (1 Cor. 12:9-10). 

This must be our belief until the end of life. As sinners, we are all without strength in ourselves (Rom. 5:6). This is why the apostle writes, "For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh" (Phil. 3:3). True Christians have no confidence in what they can do to save themselves or make themselves acceptable to God. They know that without Christ, they can do nothing (Jn. 15:5). 

These are the people who are blessed and who go from strength to strength when they pass through the Valley of Baca (Psa. 84:5-7). Baca literally means weeping. It is a place of spiritual drought and dejection where the only water is that of tears. 

Perhaps, dear Christian, you are in such a place right now. May God give you grace to make it a well -- a place to comfort you by His presence with you; a place to cleanse you from known or unknown sin; a place to calm and cool you from your impatience and anger; or a place to moisten your garden that it may grow. 

We are only passing through this vale of tears. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning (Psa. 30:5). Our night may seem very long and we may not see any light or hope, but our morning will come, and with it our Bright and Morning Star, the Sun of righteousness (Rev. 22:16; Mal. 4:2). 

Remember, all your tears are in God's book. He has purposed every one of them, and they are so precious to Him that He keeps every one of them in His bottle (Psa. 56:8). 

Remember that the Lord is always with you (Matt. 28:20), to bear your burdens (I Pet. 5:7), to plead your cause (Isa. 51:22), to wipe the tears from your eyes (Rev. 21:4), to heal your wounds (Mal. 4:2), to bind up your broken heart (Isa. 61:1), to relieve your weary spirit (Psa. 138:7), to lighten your darkness (Psa. 18:28), to preserve you from falling by the presence of His grace, until He presents you faultless before the presence of His glory (Jude 24). 

No wonder Habakkuk could still rejoice in the God of his salvation even though he might not have food or possessions. It was because the Lord was his strength. Therefore, He would make his feet like deer's feet, able to jump easily over all the hard, rocky places in life (Habakkuk 3:17-19). 

"The way of the Lord is always strength for the upright" (Prov. 10:29). 

May we make His mighty power known for His holy name's sake (Psa. 106:8).