Blessed is the man that walks through the Valley of Baca.
Psalms 84 :6 Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well, the rain also filleth the pools.
Psalms 84:7 They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.
This message is for the mature, or for those who are striving to become a mature Christian.
Despite all of the lighthearted, superficial teaching of today, we who have gone on to know the Lord and continue to make progress are facing unprecedented difficulties and questions. Many people who are true Saints are struggling with the simplest and yet most complex of all questions does Jesus still love me? And is he aware or concerned with what I’m going through and when is he going to do something about it.? While we know that the word is forever settled in heaven I must ask you the question, is it still settled in you and are you looking for his divine intervention at any moment?
Valleys are a prerequisite and a regularity if you are going to continue to grow in grace and move to new heights in Christ. Every mountaintop is surrounded by valleys you cannot go from mountain to mountain without another valley. There are lessons that you can only learn in a valley not on a mountaintop. Mountaintops are meeting places with God, and many times the overwhelming exuberance and joy of being in his presence does not permit us to be quiet enough for him to truly teach us the lessons of life. These lessons will not only make us better Christians, but enable us to comfort others with the comfort by which we were comforted. Some valleys; like the valley of Elah where David defeated Goliath have a stream in the middle, remember Jesus is the Lily of the Valley. Some valleys are a dry and barren desert; it is in these valleys that the Rose of Sharon grows. There have been many times in my life as a Christian that the sweet aroma of the lily and the rose have made me aware of His presence in a hard dry trying time.
The valley in which I desire to speak to you about today is the Baca Valley. This valley had to be passed through three times a year by the pilgrims going up to Jerusalem to celebrate Passover, Pentecost and Tabernacles. These three major feast where the high point of God’s people every year. You could not reach Jerusalem or the presence of God without passing through this valley every time. If you are a person determined and committed to celebrating the cross, the upper room, and the abiding presence of the Lord himself then you will have your own Valley of Baca to cross with great regularity. The Valley of Baca is the last valley you have to cross before reaching your goal of being in his presence to celebrate all that he has done. The Valley of Baca is in all probability The Valley of Hinnom or Gehanna. This is the place Jesus used to describe Hell. It was a garbage dump outside of Jerusalem filled with refuse the dead bodies of animals and the dead bodies of criminals. The stench alone would’ve been enough to deter anyone from passing through it. It was a dry valley burning with the fires to consume the maggot infested trash it was a most unpleasant place. No one would want to vacation there. What an odd place for God to declare a blessing much less to dig a well. Why would anyone want to dig a well in such a place? I believe the answer is two-fold; one you will pass this way again, and two others will be coming behind you who need rest, refreshing, and cleansing before reaching Jerusalem.
To dig a well in a garbage dump you have to first take God at his word and overcome your own sensibilities. You must dig down past the trash, even your own. Dig through the dirt that is tainted by the trash above get over the smell, and stop telling yourself how stupid this looks. God’s blessing in this valley is predicated by instant and implicit obedience even when it doesn’t make sense. Why am I digging a well in such a horrible dry place; won’t it be just a hole in the ground? He called you to dig the well; he’ll do the filling with the early, and the latter rain. I have been forced over the last few years, due to a series of overwhelming events to not only pass through this valley, but with great regularity. I am determined to not only dig my well, but to see it filled with the rain of His spirit. There are millions of people passing through this valley today not the literal valley, but the spiritual one and we are desperately seeking rest, refreshing, and strength to carry on the journey.
I have been blessed in my life to have known many people who have passed through this valley before me, and to have drank from their wells. Men and women like Addie Cat, Aileen Hayes, Bessie Peacock, my paternal grandmother, my wife’s grandmothers’ Sister Ford, and countless others. Men like ER Anderson, Leon Morrow, Bert Clendennen, Jimmy Pennington, and Edwin Tull. These men and women dug wells while going thru the valley of hell itself. I am still to this day refreshed by the wells they left behind.
The seventh verse says, they went from strength to strength, sometimes a little word; such as(to), can take a very long time. One translator translates it as going from company to company, or from one band of pilgrims to the next. I need you and you need me we need each other to strengthen and encourage and remind one another this is not the first time, nor the last that someone has passed this way, and we will pass this way again, and you are not going through it alone.
God still has a remnant of people who are not satisfied with simply maintaining their Christianity, they want to grow closer to him, stay covered in his blood, filled with the Spirit of God and abiding in His presence, and they will not allow a dry, stinking garbage dump to stop them, when they have come this far and they’ve been through it before.
It seems today that the battle is hotter and harder than it’s ever been. For many people, if there is no increase in opposition by Satan then you would never grow stronger, or become more dependent on the Holy Spirit and other Saints. In the last few years I have passed through this valley with a great regularity, and I have had to learn to dig a well for my own refreshing and for the multitude that follows me. I have had to become more dependent upon the Holy Spirit and others to pray for me, strengthen me, and help me financially. This is not easily done by many of us, we want so badly to be strong, independent believers. God’s plan is for us to always depend upon him, our other brothers and sisters, and to bear one another’s burdens is to fulfill the royal law of God. Remember, we are passing through this valley, and we will come out on the other side.
