It's a place all of us eventually go. All of us. Even faith-filled, Holy Spirit-baptized believers. Somebody may say, "Yes, Brother Jerry, God creates those painful places to help us grow." No, He doesn't. The devil, not God, is the one that brings misery. He's the one who comes to kill, steal, and destroy. And that's exactly why he designs those Valleys of Baca - to destroy us. All too often he succeeds.
That's right. Many believers don't make it through the Valley of Baca. They go in there, suffer setbacks, and disappointments, and are never heard from again. They give up hope and allow misery to become their permanent dwelling place.
But I'm here to tell you that's not how the Word of God tells us it should be! Psalm 84:5,6 says, "Blessed is the man whose strength is in God. Who is passing through the valley of Baca." Did you notice the last phrase? PASSING THROUGH THE VALLEY OF BACA.
Passing through! The valley of misery or weeping is not meant to be a permanent dwelling place. It's simply a place the people of God occasionally pass through.
You've got to remember that! Baca doesn't last forever. So don't lay down your faith and die when you get there. No! Stand up and say, "This is not where I live. This is not God's best for me. I'm just passing through!"
Here's something else you need to know about Baca. It can be a place of blessings! Psalm 84:6,7 (AMP) says, "those who trust in God while Passing through the valley of weeping they make it a place of springs; the early rain also fills [the pools] with blessings. They go from strength to strength - increasing in victorious power." There are blessings for you in Baca if you'll trust God as you pass through it. What's more, you can come out on the other side stronger than you've ever been before!
If you'll stand on the Word, that battle with sickness, that financial trouble, that time of misery the devil puts you through, will just give you another story to tell about how powerful God is. You can come out of Baca so full of faith and rejoicing that the devil will be sorry he ever messed with you.
You're going to find an abundance of people, most of them sincere Christian people, who are eager to convince you that there is no help for you in God. The question is: how are you going to respond to it? Are you going to hang your head and agree with it? Are you going to say, "Well, I guess you're right. I guess I just better learn to live with this misery. After all, it looks like it's here to stay."
If you'll notice, the psalmist, David knew what it was like to go through Baca. He said, "Many are they that say of my soul, there is no help for him in God. BUT THOU, O LORD, ART A SHIELD FOR ME; MY GLORY, AND THE LIFTER OF MY HEAD!"
There were many times when David was in such deep misery that he couldn't help talking about it. But his Psalms never end with misery. No, before it's over, he always starts talking about his covenant with God. He always starts talking faith.
Next time you're in Baca, you need to ask God the same thing David did. You need to say, "God, shall I just take this sitting down? Shall I just sit here and die? Do I just sit here when the enemy has invaded my home and let him carry off my family, my health, and my money?" If you do, God will tell you just what He told David every time. He'll say, "Pursue!"
When you're in pain and misery, don't sit there until you die. Get up and be aggressive. Take charge! Do what David did and encourage yourself, strengthen yourself in the Lord your God.
Go back in there and get those faith tapes and listen to them again. Get your Bible out and start reading again. Get yourself to church and let somebody preach to you. Encourage yourself! Don't wait for somebody to come along with a special anointing for encouragement. Encourage yourself! PURSUE and you shall surely overtake them, and without fail, recover all!
Today's Scripture: Psalm 84
Excerpt permission granted by Jerry Savelle Ministries International
Dr. Jerry Savelle was an average, blue-collar man who was struggling and needed God's help. While he considered himself a "nobody," when he became a believer God told him not to worry about it because He was a master at making champions out of nobodies. God has since taken Dr. Savelle from being a constant quitter to a man who knows how to stand on the Word of God until victory is experienced. Because of the life-changing combination of God's faithfulness and Dr. Savelle's "no quit" attitude, his life is totally different than it was thirty-eight years ago.
