“As they pass through the Valley of Baka, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools.”
Psalm 84:6 (NIV).
“When they walk through the Valley of Weeping, it will become a place of refreshing springs. The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings.”
Psalm 84:6, (NLT).
In Hebrew, the word “baka” means tears.
In Psalm 84, the sons of Korah write their praises of God and note that those whose strength is in the Lord will travel through the Valley of Baka and find His peace there. For some of us that Valley of Tears seems never-ending, but we must remember we are not alone in it.
I wrote this poem to remind myself of that truth. I hope it blesses you as you pass through the valley of tears, too.
My Valley of Tears
My Savior will dry all my tears The Lord God knows all my fears As I trudge onward many years I pass through the Valley of Baka
Great pain and agony oppress I feel heavy weights of duress Praying for dear Jesus to bless I pass through the Valley of Baka
I see that this valley is long I need You to make my faith strong That Lord I might sing a praise song As I pass through the Valley of Baka
God’s people have always had to wrestle with the things from the dark. As believers, the Bible tells us that we’re in a permanent state of war against Satan. There has never been an armistice or treaty signed to my knowledge. Each one of us is on the front lines. The devil has been practicing with a deadly form of “spiritual terrorism.”
The Holy Spirit allows us to experience a small portion of the battle to strengthen our faith and dependence on Him.
Satan’s lies are hollow. Jesus has completely defeated him. Yet the enemy terrorizes many withhis posturing and manipulation.
The promises found in the Word are our weapon against the devil’s lies.
Unquestionably, life can get quite dark and desperately bleak. No one needs to educate us about the dark nightmare that is now active. Over a couple of millennia, God’s covenant people have been harmed and harassed. Enemies are constantly manipulating and twisting God’s Word. As disciples, we’re under steady surveillance by the dragon.
Sometimes heaven is silent. But I believe it is never, ever disinterested or unaware.
And He certainly has not overlooked us. As we read our Bible, our faith becomes like strong Teflon. Nothing can stick–even though so much is thrown at us. When life is really dark or terribly bleak, we can protect ourselves and others. There will be times when we can sense nothing.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”
Hebrews 12:1
We’re not theologians, we are just simple disciples. The Lord knows this. I believe He simplifies things in order to help us understand. God has little reason to complicate things for us.
“We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;“
2 Corinthians 4:8-9
There is genealogy of the Spirit. If you’re a believer you have a spiritual lineage that includes Joseph and David and Esther. There is a real connection with the faithful. Your spiritual ancestry is now godly and victorious.
I believe that I’m “surrounded” by saints of all ages. And I must admit, that helps me. I am part of a continuum. My faith in Jesus has given me a definite link to all the saints that have gone before me. I’m part of God’s chain of faithful believers. (Hebrews 11:4-38.)
But now the torch has now been passed, and now I must run with it faithfully and honestly. And when all is so dark, and things seem far too quiet, I still intend to hold up that torch and carry it all the way to my Father’s house.
“Consequently, heisabletosavetotheuttermostthosewhodrawneartoGodthrough him, since he always livesto make intercessionfor them.“
I see that you are trying to be
just as good as you can be
but what you clearly do not see
is you can’t do this without Me
I know that you are wondering why
I do not stop what makes you cry
but if on Me you will rely
every tear that falls I’ll dry
I love you more than you’ll ever know
in your holiness, I want to grow
and though your progress may seem slow
the path you walk in the way you must go
I will comfort you when times are tough
I will watch over you when life is rough
I will rescue you when you’ve had enough
What’s too big for you, to Me is small stuff
May the Father’s grace and peace be yours, now and forever,
“Earth’s crammed with heaven, and every common bush afire with God; But only he who sees, takes off his shoes, The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.”
Elizabeth Barrett Browning
“Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!”
Psalm 33:8
The most phenomenal night skies were in Mexico while camping on the beach. We had no electricity, no light pollution. I laid on the sand and stared up into the Milky Way. The conditions were perfect. It seemed there were 1000 times more stars than ever seen before.
But as I laid on the beach I gazed up, a weird surge of fear gripped me.
I started to panic then–I was trembling and shaking. I got up and ran to our tent. I just couldn’t handle the incredible universe with no buffer. I was completely undone and reduced to a quivering speck of dust. I tried to tell my wife Lynn what had just happened to me, but I couldn’t. I was too scrambled. I couldn’t speak.
I now know that what I had experienced was called “awe.”
It was a word used commonly a few generations ago. We’ve side-stepped this perspective in these more modern times. We rarely contemplate the night sky. No one told me this might happen!
We seldom, if ever, have seen fire in a bush.
It seems we have traded our awareness of an authentically Almighty God, and in turn, we get to pick all blackberries we can haul. We reason it out and feel we have made a better bargain. But when we extricate this from our souls, don’t be surprised if we suddenly find that we have become spiritual paupers.
Maybe we should learn to see those things that are invisible.
Each of us has the opportunity now to see the spiritual world that swirls around us. Why wait for heaven? Ask the Father to reveal His glory right now in this present moment. Learn to see that which can’t be seen by our eyes, but must be seen only through the optics of our faith.
And after all, only faith can breakdown our ignorant illusions, it’s “the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1.)
“The heavens are telling of the glory of God; And the expanse [of heaven] is declaring the work of His hands.”
Broken Believers 