Valley of Baca

 

Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, Whose heart is set on pilgrimage.

As they pass through the Valley of Baca, They make it a spring; The rain also covers it with pools.

They go from strength to strength; Each one appears before God in Zion.

     Psalm 84:5-7 (NKJV)

These three simple verses give a lovely picture of the Christian walk.

 Strength in God

Our strength is not in our abilities or efforts, but in the Lord, for it is Christ who strengthens us (Phil. 4:13).  Another passage says that God is the glory of our strength and that His arm shall strengthen us (Psalm 89:17, 21).

 Heart set on pilgrimage

Contrary to some popular teachings, this is not our “best life now.” True believers know that our best life is yet to come. We are just passing through this world as “sojourners and pilgrims” (1 Peter 2:11) on a journey towards our heavenly home. Our hearts are set on pilgrimage to follow Christ until He comes or calls us to be with Him.

 Valley of Baca

While in this world we will have tribulation, as Jesus said (John 16:33).  Our pilgrimage may take us through a Valley of Baca. Apparently, this was an actual valley near Jerusalem but it is also used symbolically as a place of sorrow, because Baca comes from a word meaning to weep.  In this psalm, it also implies a place of dryness, a barren wasteland.

 Springs of refreshment

Even during times of spiritual dryness, even when we’re in a season of sadness, God will bring springs of refreshment to our souls if we stay close to Him. The Lord says He “will open rivers in desolate heights, And fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, And the dry land springs of water” (Isaiah 41:18, NKJV).

 Strength to strength

Instead of being wearied while we sojourn through the Valley of Baca, we are refreshed by God’s all-sufficient grace if we will wait and trust Him. For “those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31, NKJV). 

When we are rooted in God’s word, we can weather these desert seasons and go from strength to strength. “Those who are planted in the house of the LORD Shall flourish in the courts of our God (Psalm 92:13, NKJV).  Are you flourishing today? If not, turn and trust in the Lord God Almighty and He will refresh you.

First-World Frustrations

 When I was a kid, I would get all worked up over something, cranky about whatever wasn't working like it was supposed to, I'd snap at people, and be basically crabby. My mom would always, and I mean always, ask, "Did you have your quiet time this morning?" It was like putting out a fire with gas...BOOM!

The thing is, she was right, and I knew it. It distracted from my viscerally felt validity of my problem, but it was still accurate. Last night we had a Bible study on thankfulness. I am thankful, so I didn't pay a lot of attention. When I got home, I setup an astronomical telescope to attempt to connect it to my computer to run it. What could go wrong?

I got it aligned with the earth's axial tilt, and tried to orient it to my specific location on the earth. I needed a couple of stars to point it at. I typically use my smart phone for that. There are free apps that will show you the constellations and stars you are looking at in the sky by holding it up against your view of the sky.

On this particular night, my phone decided that orienting itself to where I was and what I was looking at was not what it wanted to do. I'd used two different astronomical apps and it just spun around. I had to work it manually. Grrr. But I have a phone, a smart phone. That's actually pretty cool.

I found two stars to use to orient the scope to my location. It worked, but had an "error" that was actually HUGE. I was a little concerned but it seem to track well. So, I didn't worry about it. Now to connect the computer. But first, let's see if I can take a picture.

I connect the camera to the scope, and get...nothing. What I see in the scope is not anywhere in the view of the camera, and they're looking in the same "tube". How is that even possible? No idea why that is. I change some settings on the camera, nothing. I verify that the image is in the center, change back to the camera, still nothing. But, you know what? I have this nice DSLR camera (Digital Single Lens Reflex). That's actually pretty cool too.

Anyway, I was out here in the cold dark late night to connect my computer, not my camera. Let's try that. Long story short, it didn't work...at all. In fact it jacked up the computer programs and the computer. But you know what? I have a computer, a nice one. And have the time and place (my back deck) to setup a telescope and look at the night sky.

I can complain, but why? Sure, what I tried didn't work. What I wanted to do didn't happen. Instead I was able to see Mars, but not take a pic to share with you this morning. It would have been nice, but it wasn't as interesting as those amazing pics from orbiters around Mars. It would have been a round white spot against black. You wouldn't have been able to figure out what it was just from the picture. Honestly, not a huge loss. 

What we read last night was Deuteronomy 28:1-11, but look at the verses immediately following that:

The LORD will open for you his good treasure house, the heavens, to give you rain for the land in its season and to bless all you do; you will lend to many nations but you will not borrow from any. The LORD will make you the head and not the tail, and you will always end up at the top and not at the bottom, if you obey his commandments that I am urging you today to be careful to do. But you must not turn away from all the commandments I am giving you today, to either the right or left, nor pursue other gods and worship them.
Deuteronomy 28:12-14 NET

Yay! The storehouses of heaven, rains, we will lend and not borrow, be the head not the tail, on top not the bottom...oh wait, "If you obey his commandments...". Would it be fair to say that praising our Savior is a command? Would it be within the realm of possibility that thankfulness in me is a desire of my Savior? 

I honestly don't know what it would mean for me that I would be the head not the tail, on top not the bottom, or experience the treasure house of heaven. I'm guessing it doesn't mean that my telescope will work like I want. It may mean that I get to see amazing views of what my Savior created, and marvel that He knows my name.