{"id":9767,"date":"2026-09-28T06:20:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T10:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/learn\/?p=9767"},"modified":"2026-09-25T12:01:57","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T16:01:57","slug":"what-to-do-in-a-valley","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/learn\/biblical-living\/comfort\/what-to-do-in-a-valley\/","title":{"rendered":"What to Do in a Valley: 5 Biblical Practices for Difficult Seasons"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There are moments in life when everything seems to be going your way. The future looks bright. Doors are opening. Prayers are being answered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And then there are valleys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scripture never promises us a valley-free life. In fact, when Israel was preparing to enter the Promised Land, God described it as \u201ca land of hills and valleys\u201d (Deuteronomy 11:11<\/a> NLT).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David understood this too. In perhaps the Bible\u2019s best-known description of suffering, he wrote:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEven when I walk
through the darkest valley,
I will not be afraid,
for you are close beside me.\u201d
\u2014Psalm 23:4<\/a> (NLT)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Notice what David did not say. He didn\u2019t say he avoided the valley. He didn\u2019t find a shortcut around it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He walked through<\/strong> it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That one word matters. Valleys are places we pass through, not places where we are meant to live forever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So when we find ourselves in a difficult season, the question isn\u2019t only, How do I get out of this?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s also: What should I do while I\u2019m here?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bible gives us several practical answers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Remember That the Valley Is Not Your Destination<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Valleys have a way of distorting our perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we\u2019re surrounded by uncertainty, loss, disappointment, or fear, our immediate circumstances can become all we see. A difficult chapter begins to feel like the whole story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Psalm 23<\/a> gives us a larger perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David says, \u201cEven when I walk through the darkest valley\u201d (Psalm 23:4<\/a> NLT). Two verses later, he says, \u201cI will live in the house of the LORD forever\u201d (Psalm 23:6<\/a> NLT).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We walk through<\/strong> valleys. We dwell<\/strong> with God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One is temporary. The other is permanent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Banner<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s why hope is so important during difficult seasons. In Psalms 42 and 43<\/a>, the psalmist repeatedly speaks to his own discouraged soul:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy am I discouraged?
Why is my heart so sad?
I will put my hope in God!\u201d
\u2014Psalm 42:5<\/a> (NLT)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes we spend too much time listening to our emotions and not enough time speaking truth to them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Grief<\/a> may be real. Fear<\/a> may be real. Disappointment<\/a> may be real. Scripture does not require us to deny any of those things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But what you are feeling today does not have to become your identity, and what you are experiencing now does not define your future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The valley is a season, not your final destination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Invite the Holy Spirit Into Your Valley<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of Scripture\u2019s most dramatic valleys appears in Ezekiel 37<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God takes Ezekiel to a valley filled with dry human bones. Israel was in exile, and those bones represented a people who believed their future was gone: \u201cOur bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off\u201d (Ezekiel 37:11<\/a> NIV).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then God asks Ezekiel a remarkable question: \u201cSon of man, can these bones live?\u201d (Ezekiel 37:3<\/a> NIV).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From a human perspective, the obvious answer was no. But Ezekiel wisely replied, \u201cSovereign LORD, you alone know.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God then instructed Ezekiel to prophesy to the bones. Eventually he commanded him to call for breath to enter the bodies, and they stood alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s an important detail in this passage. The Hebrew word<\/a> ruach<\/em> can mean wind, breath, or spirit. The valley changed when the breath of God entered what looked dead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That gives us an important picture of what to do in a valley: invite the Spirit of God into the places that seem hopeless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe what looks like dry bones in your life is a broken relationship. Maybe it is a calling you abandoned, a financial setback, a disappointment you cannot shake, or a future that no longer looks anything like the one you imagined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We should be careful not to assume that every lost dream will be restored exactly as we want it. Scripture doesn\u2019t promise that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Scripture does show us is that God is present in the valley and capable of doing what we cannot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So pray.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ask the Holy Spirit<\/a> to give you his perspective. Ask him to breathe fresh hope into you. Ask him to show you what obedience looks like today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The presence of dry bones does not mean God has left the valley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Look for Purpose in the Valley<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When something painful happens, one of our first questions is usually Why?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n