Psalm 84:1-For the choir director: A psalm of the descendants of Korah, to be accompanied by a stringed instrument. How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty. 2-I long, yes, I faint with longing to enter the courts of the LORD. With my whole being, body and soul, I will shout joyfully to the living God. 3-Even the sparrow finds a home there, and the swallow builds her nest and raises her young -- at a place near your altar, O LORD Almighty, my King and my God! 4-How happy are those who can live in your house, always singing your praises. Interlude
5-Happy are those who are strong in the LORD, who set their minds on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. 6-When they walk through the Valley of Weeping, it will become a place of refreshing springs, where pools of blessing collect after the rains! 7-They will continue to grow stronger, and each of them will appear before God in Jerusalem. 8-O LORD God Almighty, hear my prayer. Listen, O God of Israel. Interlude 9-O God, look with favor upon the king, our protector! Have mercy on the one you have anointed. 10-A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else! I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked. 11-For the LORD God is our light and protector. He gives us grace and glory. No good thing will the LORD withhold from those who do what is right. 12-O LORD Almighty, happy are those who trust in you. (NLT)
Psalm 84 To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm for the sons of Korah.
1-How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts!
2-My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.
3-Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God.
4-Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah
5-Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.
6-Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.
7-They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.
8-O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah
9-Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed.
10-For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11-For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
12-O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee. (KJV)
Verse 6-Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.
6-When they walk through the Valley of Weeping, it will become a place of refreshing springs, where pools of blessing collect after the rains
Passing Through-Don’t take your eyes of your destination.
There are songs we sing to remind us of where we are headed….“I am bound for the promise land, When we all get to heaven, When the roll is called up yonder, Won’t it be wonderful there, and the, Sweet bye and bye.
Valley-What is a valley? It could be relational, emotional, financially, spiritual.
It can be a valley of death, disease, or sickness, sorrow, divorce, loss (Of job, or a love one).
1 KINGS 20:28-Then a man of God came and spoke to the king of Israel, and said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘Because the Syrians have said, “The Lord is God of the hills, but He is not God of the valleys,” therefore I will deliver all this great multitude into your hand, and you shall know that I am the Lord.’
Just remember that God is still God on the mountain or in the valley!!
Baca-The word that means weeping, sorrow or tears.
Make It A Well-Allowing God to use the valley we have been in or in now to benefit someone else.
If you were in a valley and you dug a well and you hit water, it would refresh you and you would be able to continue on your journey, but even if you didn’t hit water, when the rains came it would fill up and refresh some other traveling person.
You may not see why you are going thru what you are going thru, but your testimony of how you got thru your valley, may inspire someone when they are going thru their valley!
Making A Difference
Have you ever been confronted with a message that changed your perspective? One church chose as its Lenten theme, "Forty Days of Love." Each week members of the congregation were encouraged to show their love and appreciation in different ways. The first week they were encouraged to send notes to people who had made positive contributions to their lives.
After the first service a man in the congregation wanted to speak to his pastor. The pastor describes the man as "kind of macho, a former football player who loved to hunt and fish, a strong self-made man." The man told his pastor, "I love you and I love this church, but I'm not going to participate in this Forty Days of Love stuff. It's OK for some folks," he said, "but it's a little too sentimental and syrupy for me."
A week went by. The next Sunday this man waited after church to see his pastor again. "I want to apologize for what I said last Sunday," he told him, "about the Forty Days of Love. I realized on Wednesday that I was wrong."
"Wednesday?" his pastor repeated "What happened on Wednesday?" "I got one of those letters!" the man said. The letter came as a total surprise. It was from a person the man never expected to hear from. It touched him so deeply he now carries it around in his pocket all the time. "Every time I read it," he said, "I get tears in my eyes." It was a transforming moment in this man's life. Suddenly he realized he was loved by others in the church. This changed his entire outlook. "I was so moved by that letter," he said, "I sat down and wrote ten letters myself."
By what valley we have come.
One there is Who trod the Valley,
And He suffered much from thirst.
He was weary, worn and footsore
As He trod the way the first.
But His footsteps made the pathway
Which we now may safely tread,
And it makes the road more easy
When we know He's just ahead.
Just before He left the Valley
And emerged into the light,
All His friends He gathered round Him
E'er He vanished out of sight.
Words of comfort then were spoken
To the travelers in the vale.
Not one promise that He made them
Has been ever known to fail.
