Blessed are those whose strength is in You, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca (Weeping), they make it a place of springs; even the autumn rain covers it with pools. 

– Psalm 84:5,6

Friend, if your soul is dry, it could be because you have been avoiding tears. 

This world is filled with places no normal person wants to go. Barren and broken places. Places that are filled with weeping. 

Broken city streets.

Abandoned slums.

Dysfunctional neighborhoods.

Corrupt Businesses.

Dark corners of abuse. 

Places and people that have nothing to offer you. Nothing but weeping, that is. Get too close to them and they will wound your soul, break your heart, and make you cry. You cry because the darkness feels so strong and you feel so powerless. The wounds run deep and you have nothing but a band-aid. Why even go there? 

Yet, avoid these places and your soul will become dry and barren. The only way to experience the life of Christ is to let it flow through you to the people that have yet to drink deeply of it. 

“One gives freely, yet gains even more; Another withholds what is right, only to become poor.”(Proverbs 11:24) 

One avoids the desert and ends up dry;

Another travels through the desert and makes it a well-watered garden. 

The blessing of the Lord is for those who, with hearts set on pilgrimage, travel with Him through the Valley of Weeping. If you want to live with the joy, peace, and bounty of the Kingdom of God, go with King Jesus to the broken and barren places.

Set out from your safe and sterile enclave and visit the orphan and widow in their distress; sit with the prisoners in their affliction; spend the long night with the addict in withdrawal; listen, yet again, to the story of the abused; hear the confession of the corrupt. Feel their pain. Share in their tears.

As you wipe away tears, yours and theirs, do not give way to despair. Remember the Gospel; remember the One who turned Calvary, a hill for condemnation, into a Hill of Redemption.  Dry each tear with the confident hope that this won’t remain the Valley of Weeping. Because you are here with Jesus, it will become the Valley of Springs!

Jesus stood up at a feast and shouted, “Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said: ‘Streams of living water will flow from within him.’ ” (John 7:38) When you are full of Jesus, life flows from within you that will transform the hearts around you. You bring the Spring to the desert. Jesus is an endless supply and you are the opening for Him to flow through. And as others drink from the Spring in you, the Spring begins to flow from them too! Soon, what was once a barren, sad valley, is a lush garden of springs!

Jesus calls you to leave everything and boldly follow Him. Your days of being safe but dry and barren are over. Come. Let’s run to the Valley. It’s time to open up some springs.

Artwork: Alessandro Magnasco, “Saint Jerome”