Baca - You Can't Skirt This Valley

Life is a journey. For some it's an exciting adventure, for others a plodding task, lonely and futile. For people of faith like the singer of Psalm 84, life is a pilgrimage, a journey towards God.

How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty ...

My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God (v2).

The singer yearns to be in God’s presence and can’t wait to arrive at her destination, but her song is about the journey itself – the rigors and rewards of the road.

Blessed are those … who set their hearts on pilgrimage.

As they pass through the Valley of Baca,

they make it a place of springs;

the autumn rains also cover it with pools (v6).

This pilgrimage often has to cross tough terrain such as the Valley of Baca, meaning ‘a thirsty valley’ or the ‘Valley of Weeping’. This depicts seasons in life when our feet get tired, the joy of the journey fades, friendships grow cold and our souls become dry, when we have to dig in search of water.

Pilgrims cannot skirt around this valley; they have to traverse it; it is the only way to God. We have to engage the challenges life brings. And when the soul is dry it is doubly hard work, but it is a non-negotiable requirement for growing faith.

In the allegorical story Hind’s Feet On High Places, the shepherdess Much-Afraid has to travel through a desert on her way to the High Places where her Shepherd lives. She resists travelling through such desolate barren forbidding terrain, but as she journeys through it she discovers she is not alone, that the desert is full of people, Abraham, Sarah, Joseph and an endless procession of others. They hold out a hand to her and she found herself part of the great chain of pilgrims. They reassure her that the desert was a place of promise as well as adversity.

The psalmist notes that as they pass through this valley, pilgrims “make it a place of springs.” The streams are underground, hidden from view and have to be searched out. But as Derek Kidner says, “faith dares to dig blessings out of hardships.” In fact, for those with 'a heart set on pilgrimage' (v5) these times of drought actually strengthen their faith. Other times God sends rain from above, unexpected and unsolicited showers of blessing and joy. “The autumn rains also cover it with pools”.

A life of pilgrimage includes experiences of both 'ground-water' and 'rain', rigorous disciplines and moments of sheer grace, hard-won solitary victories or set-backs as well as pleasant companions that brighten the path.

That's how faithful pilgrims “go from strength to strength til each appears before God in Zion” (v.7) or as The Message says it, “These roads curve up the mountain, and at the last turn – Zion! God in full view!”

That’s the pathway and prospect of faith – and what a prospect! Let me suggest that you share this thought with a fellow-pilgrim today. Tell them - 'who knows what lies ahead for us on this journey, rainy seasons or dry, but let’s share the pilgrimage together.'

Photo Sources:
Tibet Valley ... Austrian Valley