CONCERT OF PRAYER

Pray Week 934

“Joy in the Morning”

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. (Psalm 84:5-7)

Have you ever noticed that the enemy of your soul is always seeking to trip you up when you are most vulnerable such as when your life journey takes you through a difficult trial? Praise God that these dry valley experiences are also when He provides the strength and living water of His Holy Spirit to equip us to stand firm and steadfast as He leads us out of our valley experiences and into the joy of His presence.

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 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 world 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)

When Jesus walked among us He was called a ‘man of sorrows’. He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; (Isaiah 53:3) However, He never lost sight of the vision and plan and purpose of God and so He endured and persevered. …for the joy that was set before him endured the cross. (Hebrews 12:2)

Following justification by faith and salvation through Jesus Christ, God calls us into a sanctification process where He shapes and molds us to be more like Christ. During sanctification some of the desires of this world that we would place ahead of God, the “idols” in our life, become evident and have to be purged.

Being sanctified is like traveling through the Valley of Baca on our way to ‘appear before God in Zion’. Here we will learn to rely on His strength and not on ourselves or worldly things. Here we will bury our fleshly desires that hinder our service to God. Here the enemy will come and seek to turn us back, and it is here that God provides all that we need to stay the course and safely traverse the valley.

God’s Word says you are blessed when your heart seeks to ‘go up to Zion’. Furthermore, He will renew your strength as you travel through your Valley of Tears. 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.

May you know the joy of the Lord that is set before you. May you know that life in this world is temporary and the life to come with Him is eternal. May you seek to serve Him and fulfill your God-given purpose in the present time. May you endure your Valley of Tears with hope for the future because: Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning. (Psalm 30:5) May you enjoy the journey to Zion in the power and strength and joy of the Lord.