Passing Through the Valley
“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)
A young friend recently married asked if I had ever persevered in prayer for my husband with a specific need. My answer came quickly as I was reminded that God is faithful to hear our prayers! “Do you consider 15 years praying the same thing a long time?,'' because that is how long I pleaded for Jay to lead our family spiritually..
At times I wondered if I would ever see the answer to that prayer. But, I continued to seek the Lord. I reminded myself that His timing is always perfect. Somehow I trusted the delay had more to do with things I did not see than the ones obvious to my eyes.
Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. Hebrews 11:1 (NLT)
Years later I saw the Lord use a young Cambodian girl, Vichika to answer my prayer. The answer came when she was only 4 years old. Since my prayer began before she was born and the plan God had was far greater than what I was asking for, I had to wait. Those 15 years of praying and waiting were sometimes very hard but I knew if Jay could move into a place of leading me and our family spiritually it would change everything, and that it did. God led Jay on a mission trip where he met young Vichika and his spiritual transformation happened. This led to the birth of an orphan care ministry, Saving Susan Ministry.
Psalm 84:6 speaks of passing through the Valley of Baca -- a dry wilderness, or a lonesome valley. That’s exactly where I felt I was each time I was driven to pray for Jay’s spiritual awakening. He led me to my personal relationship with Jesus Christ but I felt like we were in different countries in our walk with the Lord.
The Message translation uses “winding through” instead of passing, however, both indicate reaching the end of a journey. Our journeys can often contain hardships and winding roads. Psalm 84 is about making the way to the temple in Jerusalem, the Holy City. The pilgrim discovered cool springs in a dry place. In other words, the traveler discovered a blessing while passing through the wilderness. Perhaps everyone must go through the depressions of valleys before reaching the mountains on the other side. For some reason, some -- like my husband -- seem to be stuck in the depressions longer than others. Are their valleys deeper, longer, dryer than mine?
Reflecting on that psalm, I think we are not meant to stay in the wilderness without sharing our faith journey with others? -- especially our mates. We have passed through and along the way found spiritual blessings.
Rejoicing comes beyond the wilderness as do the cool springs. Psalm 84 is a magnificent description of traveling through, then reaching our destination on the far side of the dry places. Then we can see God fully.
God does not intend for us to stay in the valley but to pray, trust, then pass through it!
I pray you will turn to the beauty of Psalm 84 and seek God in your journey.