Key scripture – “Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion” (Psalm 84:5-7).

There is a spiritual law in the Kingdom of God. Every great leader in the Kingdom will pass through the Valley of Baca. Baca means to weep. It comes from the Hebrew word, bakah (baw-kaw’); a primitive root; to weep; generally to bemoan.

However, Baca is also a place of springs. There is nothing better on a hot day when you’re thirsty and weary than to drink a cold glass of ice water. It refreshes. It renews. It revives you. It gives you a second wind to continue your journey. It hits the spot.

Those who commit themselves to a pilgrimage, which is a long journey with God, will experience the Valley of Baca. But in the midst of Baca they will discover that in this valley they will also drink from a very special spring that refreshes with a different kind of living water.

“On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink.
Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” (John 7:37-38).

The springs in the Valley of Baca become the source of “hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places” described by the prophet Isaiah in Isaiah 45:3 that are reserved only for those willing to journey on the Great Pilgrimage with God.

“I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the Lord, the God of Israel, who summons you by name.” (Isaiah 45:3).

Once you drink from this spring you will be energized in your spirit from strength to strength. Each Valley of Baca will result in a new spiritual spring from which you will drink. It is handmade just for you by God. But know this, it will also be used to provide a refreshing drink for others you will encounter who are on their pilgrimage.

Ultimately, Baca leads to the presence of God. There is something about being in a place with God that results in our weeping and crying out to Him. Do you find yourself in this place with God today? If so, know that His springs are also available to you. Ask him today to give you a drink from His spiritual spring that is only available in the Valley of Baca that was made just for you.

“Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?” Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,
but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:10-14).

Pray this – Our Precious Heavenly Father, Jesus is the Living Water, the refreshing spring that I drink from, that strengthens and nourishes me. “For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; ‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’” (Revelation 7:17a). Because of You, I am like a tree planted by the river, whose roots run deep, that thrives and never dries up, no matter what is going on around me. “But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.” (Jeremiah 17:7-8). I will not fear anything as I travel on my pilgrimage with You through the Valley of Baca, because You are with me, You refresh me, You are always in control, You are good, You are my strength, and You will never ever forsake or abandon me. As I am refreshed by Your spiritual springs, show me others who are in the Valley of Baca who also need to drink from it and be refreshed by it. In the Name of Jesus, the Living Water, I pray, Amen.