Valley of Tears....

Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee. Whose heart is set on pilgrimage.As they pass through the Valley of Baca, They make it a spring; The rain also covers it with pools. They go from strength to strength; Each one appears before God in Zion.--Psalm 84:6-7

These are some of my most favorite verses in Scripture.

The blessings of being in the presence of our God and worshiping Him during our earthly pilgrimage here are not for the divided or half-hearted. No, the blessings come to those whose heart is completely surrendered to Him. Whose minds, hearts and actions are full of His ways. Whose eyes are focused always on Him. Blessed is the man who loves HIs God with all of His heart, with all his mind, with all his soul and with all his strength. This is the man whose heart can be filled with joy and find refreshment even as he walks through the most difficult times here on this earth. This is the man who can look back over the difficult valleys that he has passed through and can see the beauty the Lord has wrought through them by his surrender. This is the man who finds His all in His God and can comfort others with the comfort He Himself has received. His strength is spent in His God and he does not grow weary but finds both his strength and joy increasing as he journeys. The path shines ever brighter as he walks. His hope is in His God..and His God will receive Him when his time here is done. He will awake in His likeness and will see His face in righteousness and his joy will be unending.

This is what I want as I go through my Valley of Tears here on my earthly pilgrimage. I want to make it a spring...I want to surrender to His Spirit inside and trust the All Sufficient One in my time of trouble. I want my journey to encourage others in their own walk with the Lord. We all need times of barrenness and trouble to grow strong in Him. Strengthen your inner man by spending time with God and you will begin to see your adversity as an opportunity from Him to experience His faithfulness even more. Sing in your time of sorrow. Triumph in tragedy. Look for the rainbows. Our Lord will bear you up on wings like eagles. Immerse yourself in the water of His word and go from strength to strength on your own journey to Zion.