A little over a year ago for several months, I had some physical problems that started slowly and basically eventually landed me in my living room chair, unable to do much, energy depleted but fatigue abundant, pain surprising me often (surprising because there didn’t seem to be rhyme or reason as to timing or location in my body), aches that stayed with me … you get the picture. I continued to be sent to different doctors to check for different conditions, some of which were quite scary. I could, as I told my neurologist, feel my vitality ebbing away.

One night during a prayer night at church, after I finished praying, I sat down beside my husband, and he said God had given him a verse for me, that he would read it to me when we got to our vehicle. When there, he read Isaiah 43:2: “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you” (NKJV). The word through became a promise onto which I held, and just like the Lord told Kevin, I walked through and am well.

But this word through still sticks with me. God’s Word tells us about two valleys we will walk through, two valleys that describe our journey of loving a prodigal, with through being the operative word.

The Valley of Baca

The first valley is the Valley of Baca, or the Valley of Weeping. The journey of loving a prodigal can feel like we live in the Valley of Weeping, but there is a promise—several actually—in Psalm 84:5-7: “Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them. Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools. They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God” (KJV, emphasis added).

The promise is “passing through.” The Valley of Weeping is not our home. We are only passing through the weeping phase. In fact, Jesus Himself gave us a similar promise in Matthew 5:4. It says, Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.” We shall be comforted!

The other promises in this psalm are for the passing through phase, the part of the journey while we are still traveling through the valley. These promises are:

• We will make the valley a well, which can be translated spring or fountain, a source of flowing water.
• The rain will fill the pools, which can be translated covers it with blessings and has an element of liberal.
• We will go from strength to strength. Our strength truly is in God.

So, if we read it with that in mind, it says, “Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a source of flowing water; the rain also covers it with blessings liberally. They go from strength to strength.”

In this Prayer for Prodigals ministry, we call evidence of answered prayers raindrops, and when a prodigal is saved, we call it a deluge. We make the valley a spring through our prayers, and God covers the valley with blessings liberally. In the process, we are made stronger and stronger in our faith and trust in the Lord.

We will get through the Valley of Weeping.

The Valley of the Shadow of Death

During my “illness,” for lack of a better word—many told me I was under a spiritual attack—I also held tight to Psalm 23:4, because in the middle of the worst days, I felt like something was terribly wrong, that perhaps I was living in the shadow of death. It says: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me” (Psalm 23:4 NKJV). God really did comfort me with this verse, and He constantly reminded me of His presence and His promises, giving me faith to trust Him to bring me through the valley to the part of the journey where death is not a constant threat. I learned to trust Him to heal me, to bring me through, to never leave me. He truly was my Shepherd through it all.

This verse can also describe the journey of loving a prodigal, because we can wonder how we will ever survive, all while truly worrying that our prodigals won’t survive. However, “though [we] walk through the valley of the shadow of death,” we do not have to fear evil, because the Lord Himself, the God Of Salvation, the Savior of our prodigals is with us … and with them.

Of course, this is easier said than done, but praise is our weapon in the valley of the shadow of death … both valleys, actually. It reminds us just who the Lord is, who the God Of Salvation is and what He will and will not do, and who the Savior is and what He has already done to provide for their salvation and forgiveness and freedom. Praise also invites Him into our spaces, lives, situations.

Once again, we have a promise: “I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.” We are traveling through, and neither is this valley our home or our dwelling place. We will get through it.

What Does This Mean for Right Now?

Whether your prodigal will be saved today or years from now, we are not meant to stay in the Valley of Weeping or the valley of the shadow of death. We are meant for peace and rest and joy, even in this journey. These valleys may be a section of the journey, but they are not the whole journey, and we can have rest, joy, and peace even in these valleys.

We will get through both valleys, and we will be stronger and stronger. While I hear lots of stories of the valleys, I also hear stories of peace and stories of resting in the promises of God. I hear stories of walking by faith even when the sights are horrible (2 Corinthians 5:7). I witness the joy of pray-ers as they wait in His presence (Psalm 16:11) and read their accounts of God’s giving them a peace that makes no sense (Philippians 4:7), all while their prodigals are still living in sin and not in relationship with God … all because they’ve learned to trust Him and what He has said in His Word and to them personally. They are made stronger and stronger while passing through these valleys.

So, take heart. Keep seeking God, and you will walk out of these valleys, stronger than you’ve ever been and with a level of peace and joy you could not have accomplished on your own. “When you pass through the waters, [God] will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned, Nor shall the flame scorch you.”

Our God is faithful!