CONCERT OF PRAYER
Pray Week 655

“The Valley of Weeping”

Psalm 84:5-7 (ESV) Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion.  As they go through the Valley of Baca they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion.

We have seen that the enemy seeks to trip us up when our life journey takes us through valley experiences. In the Valley of Kings, after we have had a victory, he is there appealing to our pride and greed. In the Valley of Giants, when we are faced with seemingly impossible challenges, he seeks to trip us up by getting us to take our eyes off of Jesus. In the Valley of Dry Bones, when all we see are our dead and abandoned dreams, hopes and visions, the enemy once again seeks to destroy what remains of our hope through negativity and by hindering our prayer life and ability to hear God. Now, in yet another of life’s valleys, the Valley of Baca, the enemy seeks to get us to prevent us from reaching our destination as we ‘go up to Zion’.

The Valley of Baca was believed to be in Palestine and part of the route traveled by those making the pilgrimage to Jerusalem. It is said that it was lined with gum-exuding (weeping) Balsam trees. The valley is also said to have been lined with burial tombs. The name ‘Baca’ is a variant derivative of a root word meaning ‘to weep’. The imagery of the Psalm is that as we seek to have a closer, more intimate relationship with our God and Lord, we sometimes have to endure a valley experience of weeping and sorrow. Indeed, Jesus taught that His followers would suffer weeping and lamentations while the worldly rejoiced.

Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. …. John 16:20-23

Following justification by faith and salvation through Jesus Christ, God expects us to yield to ‘the potter’s hand’ as He shapes us and molds us to be more like Christ. This is the sanctification process where we are being set apart for God’s purpose and plan. During sanctification some of the desires of this world that we would place ahead of God, the “idols” in our life, have to be purged and cleansed. Going through sanctification is like traveling through the Valley of Baca on our way up to Jerusalem. Here there will be weeping. Here we will bury our worldly desires that hinder our service to God. Here the enemy will come and seek to turn us back, to make us less effective in serving God during our life on earth.

Jesus, when He walked among us was called a ‘man of sorrows’. However, He never lost sight of the vision and plan and purpose of God and so He endured and persevered.

He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief …for the joy that was set before him endured the cross — Isaiah 53:3; Hebrews 12:2

God’s Word says you are blessed when your heart seeks to ‘go up to Zion’. God’s Word says that as you travel through your Valley of Tears, He will renew your strength. Not all at once, but one day at a time, one sanctifying change at a time, one temptation at a time. You will go from strength to strength in His power as you remain steadfast in seeking to follow Jesus.

Know that the joy of the Lord is set before you. Know that life in this world is temporary and the life to come with Him is eternal. Seek to serve Him and fulfill your God-given purpose in the present.   Endure your Valley of Tears for:

Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning -Psalm 30:5b   

Enjoy the journey to Zion in the power and strength and joy of the Lord.