All of us who are on this journey called life will at some time come to our Valley of Baca experience. Baca was a valley that contained trees that exuded resin or gum. Baca was a valley of weeping trees. (The Hebrew baka is related to the Hebrew word for “weep.”) Surely we have been confronted in our valleys with those situations that have caused us to weep, to cry, to wail. There are some valley experiences that affect our lives so deeply until it is difficult for us to see ourselves on the other side of them.
Often when we encounter our Baca moments, we tend to get off course and lose our sense of spiritual direction. Instead of concentrating on where we are going and where we want to go, we begin to focus on the valley. Valleys are always down; they are located between two high points. When we are in the valley we often develop a down spirit, and we find ourselves depressed and lifeless, with little motivation to move to a higher place. We are no longer traveling forward; instead, we are just going in circles, not making any progress toward our destination. Our spiritual compass has gone haywire, and we really don’t know which way to go.
Valley experiences have the potential of becoming very dangerous places for us. Usually find we ourselves responding to our reality based upon our emotions, which are often inconsistent and volatile. Decisions that are made while we are in the valley do not help in moving us forward. If we do not learn to be still long enough to experience what God is trying to tell us, we will delay our time of coming out of the valley. We must let the Lord plan the course. We must learn how to get through the valley with a minimum of damage and a maximum of growth.
If along your spiritual journey, you find yourself in the Valley of Baca, keep your heart set on the pilgrimage, on the journey. Remember that Baca is but a stopping place on the way to Jerusalem. In the Hebrew language, Jerusalem means “city of peace and wholeness.” If you keep traveling, you will get to Jerusalem. To get there, to move through your down places and make your way to the high points, you must keep meditating, praying, praising, and worshiping the Lord. If you do so, you will gain strength for the journey, and one day you will find that you have made it through the valley.