Partnering with God in my Valley of Baca

Psalm 84:5-6

5: Blessed are those whose strength is in You, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage to God’s house

6: As they go through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools.

Psalms 84:5-6

My Pastor is preaching on Psalms 84. The week before his Valley of Baca sermon was the third anniversary of my husband, Philip’s, death. 

It has been a difficult season with my grieving being only one of the many moving pieces in my life. Nothing I set my hand to seemed to be going right. I had been feeling increasingly overwhelmed so I asked God for a fresh encounter with Him, knowing He is my only hope for restoration.

As the week progressed, I continued to be overloaded. I have five 4 month old puppies I’ve been trying to sell and with so much rain, there is mud everywhere.  I felt like I needed something to be resolved or I would explode. As a relief valve, I decided to inquire about artificial turf.

I had somebody come to the house on Friday to give me an estimate. I was not intending to buy. I just wanted to be working toward resolving at least one overwhelmer. Through a series of God-idences, I said yes to the project against my worldly judgment but in favor of trusting God.

Then on Sunday my Pastor  preached from Psalm 84: 5-6. I heard him say that as we go through the desolation and dryness of the valley of Baca, when we partner with God, we will turn back and see that the desolation has been turned to lush greenness. 

The next morning, they tore up my yard to prepare it for artificial turf. It seemed like a tangible picture of the valley of Baca. Although it was not dry, it was a place of upheaval and desolation. The muddy disarray of the torn up ground felt like a picture of my torn up life. I remembered what I heard my Pastor say. When I partner with God, He will turn my desolation into lush green growth. By myself, I will fail but God’s turf is coming!

And in the afternoon, the turf company, ‘Forever Green’, by the way, transformed my mud pit into a green refuge. 

I had asked God for a fresh encounter with Him. I had asked Him to partner with me to help make my valley of Baca green again. And He did, literally!

My yard is lovely and green, polished even. The desolation of the morning has been transformed into beauty. It is an almost exact representation of the truth of Psalm 84. I began overwhelmed and desolate and I was left in awe of His intensely personal wonder working power on my behalf, like a fresh revelation falling on me, like the rains in Baca. It felt like God was taking my hand and walking with me. He wanted to take me from the barrenness of Baca into a land of green and in doing so, He showed me that in this new land, grief isn’t an enemy. It is a friend and a comfort.

It seems too great a thought to think that God would use something as simple as my yard to show me a tangible picture of what He has for me; that He would use my yard and His Word to confirm His unalienable truths: He is actively in our midst and at work.

Gratefully,

Anne Braudt

February 11, 2024