Baca is Hebrew for balsam tree. The balsam tree oozes sap like tears and so the Valley of Baca is also called the Valley of Tears. The Israelites were required to make the long pilgrimage to Jerusalem three times a year. To get to Jerusalem, you had to go through the Valley of Baca.
The Valley of Baca is a dry and barren place filled with serpents and vipers. It is a place where the winds of adversity blow and as they blow, the dust of difficulty attaches itself to you, distorts your vision, and leaves you in a dust storm that disorients you. Baca is any difficult or painful place in your life.
The sun beats down relentlessly upon you. Your skin is burned, your lips cracked and dry, and your throat screams for refreshing. You cry out to God for water, but God says, “Dig a well.” You can sit in your struggle, complain, get mad, be frustrated, or you can dig a well.
The well you dig will be refreshing for you, but it will also be a place of refreshing for the next person to go through the valley. When you go through something, there is always someone coming up behind you who is about to go through it too. As God sustains you by providing water to your well, you will take a blessing, and you will leave a blessing.
Notice that we pass through Baca and we don’t stay there. Don’t build your house there, simply pitch your tent because you will not be staying there permanently. Going through Baca increases your strength and the strength gained while you are there will transform you and prepare for what God has for you when you reach your destination.
Mamas, you are moving from “here” to “there”. The devil can’t steal your “there” because that is ordained by God. But he can try and steal, kill, and destroy your “here” in Baca. The enemy hopes you will be so defeated in the valley that you will stop trying to get to the High Place.
My friends, if you are traveling from here to there and you are going through your own personal Valley of Baca, know that although God doesn’t take us out of the valley, he gives us the strength to go through it. You won’t be there forever. You will find your way out and will see the mountaintop soon!
Susie and the Help Club for Moms Team
For more information about Susie and her ministry, Between the Gardens, visit her website at susieoneal.org.
Hello! My name is Susie. I have been married to my best friend, Andy, for twenty-five years, and we have two beautiful daughters who are twenty-four and twenty-one. I live in Cleveland, Ohio, where I work full-time as a writer and proofreader at a textbook company. I am the creator and writer of Between the Gardens Ministries, LLC., where I am passionate about teaching and encouraging believers through the truth of God's Word through online evangelism. I am blessed to be a part of this wonderful community, and I pray I can help mentor and inspire mothers of all ages and stages.
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2 Comments on “The Valley of Baca”
Simply amazing am not staying in my valley of baca am passing through it
Amen!!