November 6 - Weeping to Renewal

I was re-reading Psalm 84 and even though I spent time with it a year ago, I looked at one verse and something else caught my eyes today.  


In Psalm 84:6 we read "As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools."  As you read through my post from last year, you will see that the Valley of Baca is the Valley of Weeping.  


It occurred to me today that walking with the Lord through the Valley of Weeping is quite different than facing grief alone.  Not only was there immediate renewal happening because they were with the Lord, but this renewal changed the face of the valley.  When we face grief or tough times or stress or hardship with our face set toward the Lord, we not only change our own lives, but we establish a renewed landscape for the next person to traverse.


When our encounters with the Lord are seen by the world, when we allow God to work in our lives and those around us see the change, we open the eyes of the world and allow them to be able to move forward with faith. Our lives are a testimony to the goodness of the Lord.

October 22, 2009 - Psalm 84:1-12

So many of these Psalms have been made into praise songs that I can barely get through them without singing them. It's actually pretty wonderful!

In 2 Samuel 23, David's last words begin with, "The oracle of David son of Jesse, the oracle of the man exalted by the Most High, the man anointed by the God of Jacob, Israel's singer of songs."

The Psalms were to be sung and when we put them to music we are continuing a tradition that God began in the man He loved very much. Think about that just for a moment. The words that David sang in praise to God, many of us sing over and over - even if it is in a different language ... remember God is the Alpha and Omega ... the first and last letter of the language. Jesus is the Word made flesh. These words of praise have come down through time to fill our hearts, just as they did the heart of King David.

The Psalmist opens this with words of praise for the dwelling place of the Lord. (Psalm 84:1-4). Now the wonderful thing about this is that in Revelation 21:22 we see that the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple in the New Jerusalem. The dwelling place and the Lord are one and the same. The Psalmist is yearning to be in the presence of God. Nothing else matters!

In Psalm 84:6, the Valley of Baca is the Valley of weeping. Those who go through weeping with their hearts set on the Lord make it a place of springs. They go from strength to strength.

What an amazing image! As we walk through turmoil, if we do so with our hearts set on the Lord, rather than tears and weeping, we experience springs that come from our depths. We can move from strength to strength. It's like walking through a desert, but moving from an oasis of strength to the next. God offers us those springs of water in our desert!

Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked." (Psalm 84:10)

The Psalmist would rather be in God's presence than anywhere else. So would I. I can't imagine any place better than that - and I can imagine a lot of wonderful places.

"O Lord Almighty, blessed is the man who trusts in you." (Psalm 84:12)