Day 32 - Valley of Baca

Valley of Baca

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Blessed is the man whose strength is in You,

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.

O LORD of Hosts,
Blessed is the man who trusts in You!

- Psalm 84: 5-7, 12

This is my assurance for this year that is ending, and the year about to begin:

God is my safe place as I go through the Valley of Baca.

I have set my heart on this pilgrimage, this sacred journey.

There is no getting around this valley, and many other valleys like it.

The Valley of Baca is a place of weeping, yet it has become a place of springs for many others before me. In the strength provided by Abba Father, I can do the same.

There is another valley I go through, the Valley of Achor, a place of trouble. Yet God promises that in that valley is a door of hope -- a way out.

And as I go through that door, it opens up to the place of restoration. I get back my vineyards where I can sing again as in the days of my youth.

There's no going around valleys as I go on this pilgrimage to the heart of my Father.

I plod on, tired and weary at many times... the journey seems too long. I yearn to be home, to see my Father's face. To be refreshed, and feast at His table.

But the journey is part of the refining process, the building of strength inside of me needed for the rest of the journey.

I am grateful for the inner light guiding me. There is never a day that I feel abandoned.

Amazing but true.

There is something that keeps hope alive, keeps me holding on to the promise, Abba Father will never leave me or forsake me.

There are times when I need to stop. Get my bearings. Get some rest to regain strength.

My thirst drives me to search and dig for water.

Because in the valley of Baca, it has been said there's underground water to be found. If I am thirsty enough, nothing will stop me from digging until I find that spring.

And so I dig deeper. Until I find the water... 

This valley is also called, "The Thirsty Valley." It is for thirsty wayfarers like me... who will not stop until the source of refreshing is discovered.

Then God grants favor... my digging is rewarded. Didn't He promise, If You seek Me you will find Me?

There are others with me in this journey who are also digging. Together we sit, and drink to our hearts' delight.

The spring is deep and there is more than enough water for all of us, and others to come.

It bubbles up with fresh, clear, sweet, life-giving water.

Joy wells up with the discovery... and the greatest joy comes from knowing I am not alone in the journey.

Abba Father gives more favor... the autumn rains come, and soon the spring of water become pools of water.

Because water attracts water.

God comes to us like the rains... and showers us to refresh us, and strengthen us. and fill our hearts with joy.

That we may not give up when the going gets too difficult, or the road ahead gets too lonely.

He gives water to the thirsty... food to the hungry... opens up for us streams in the desert.

It is not a journey for the weak, or the faint of heart.

These are the ones who "go from strength to strength..."

Blessed is the man whose strength is in You.

Blessed is the man who trusts in You.

It's all about trust... I trust You with all that I am because I know that the journey is not in vain.

The Message Bible puts it this way: 

"These roads curve up the mountain, and at the last turn -- Zion! God in full view!"

Abba Fatther, I hold on to you as the year ends... 

I put my trust in You.

Thank you for the spring of living water, the times of refreshing, the encouragement, the fresh supply of joy and gladness. 

The joy of the Lord is my Strength!

You supply me with the needed strength... until the day when I see you in full view. That is the encouragement for this journey - the amazing eternal reward of You, Abba Father.

Day 31 - You Are For Me

Our Refuge and Strength

by Morgan Weistling

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Be strong and of good courage,

do not fear nor be afraid of them;

for the Lord your God,

He is the One Who goes with you.

He will not leave you nor forsake you.

- Deuteronomy 31:6

Abide in Me.

Trust in Me.

The Father is calling me to intimacy... to closeness.

To know from experience that He is trustworthy.

He is allowing me to understand the cycle of the seasons.

My season of fruitfulness is followed by a season of pruning. Autumn follows summer.

Then comes the winter season of waiting... a seeming season of inactivity and fruitlessness.

Then newness of life bursts forth... the season of productivity.

Abba Father never abandons the branches in the Vine. He gives personal attention to the details of my life.  He is aware of the smallest detail.

Nothing gets ignored or overlooked.

Day 30 - Believing is Receiving

The Touch

by Connie Baten

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For she said, "If only I may touch His clothes,

I shall be made well.

Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up,

and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction.

- Mark 5:28, 29

From Joseph Prince's Devotional Reading for today:

God's ways are not like the ways of the world. The world says, "If I can't feel it or see it, I cannot believe the miracle is here." God says, "If you believe it before you feel it or see it, you will see your miracle."

Believing first before seeing the evidence of what we are believing for is called faith. Faith is like a spark and Jesus is the dynamite powder...

When the woman came to Him and touched Him in faith, He felt power leave His body, and it sparked off an explosion of healing in the woman's body!

Did she experience her healing first before she believed? No, she believed first in Jesus' goodness and power, acted in faith and only then felt the healing in her body.

In the same way, God wants you to believe in His goodness and love toward you. He wants you to know how willing He is to act on your behalf to bless you, and how with Christ He will freely give you every good thing.

He wants you to declare by faith that all is and shall be well with you, and to expect to see just that. And then, no matter how long you have had the problem no matter how bad the experts say it is, an explosion of healing and restoration will take place, and you will receive what you are believing for."

Day 22 - Internal Reality

Daybreak

photo taken at 7:24 a.m.

December 17, 2013

Central Virginia, USA

Now to Him who is able to do

exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think,

according to the power that works in us,

to Him be the glory in the church

by Christ Jesus to all generations,

forever and ever. Amen.

- Ephesians 3:20, 21

In his book, Culture of Honor, Danny Silk writes:

"The first mistake so many believers make when someone mentions wealth is to equate it to riches. But the idea that money makes someone wealthy is like suggesting that holding a football makes you an NFL quarterback. Riches or money are external conditions and wealth is an internal reality. Our insides will always manifest on our outsides."

This is another beautiful confirmation of what I have long believed in. As daughter of the King of Kings, wealth and abundance is my birthright. The enemy has made it his business to make me think otherwise, but Abba Father has continually spoken His truth to me.

Day 21 - Morning Dew

Morning Dew

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It's a cold, early morning here in Central Virginia. And I just finished lifting up my dawn watch prayers before my Abba Father. This passage of Scripture is very much on my heart this morning:

Now these are the last words of David.

Thus says David the son of Jesse;

Thus says the man raised up on high,

The anointed of the God of Jacob,

And the sweet psalmist of Israel:

The Spirit of the LORD spoke by me,

And His word was on my tongue.

The God of Israel said,

The Rock of Israel spoke to me:

"He who rules over men must be just,

Ruling in the dear of God,

And he shall be like the light of the morning when the sun rises,

A morning without clouds,

Like the tender grass springing out of the earth,

By clear shining after the rain."

Painfully beautiful... these words of Scripture tug at my heart.

Raise up leaders like this for us, Abba Father... for our nation, and for our churches. Protect us from self-centered leaders who desire only to build their own kingdoms. How it must grieve Your heart. Raise up men and women like King David, men and women after Your heart. 

May our church truly be a House of Prayer... giving glory, honor, and pleasure to You alone ... lifting up a sweet aroma of prayer incense... from true worshipers... of humble and pure speech... bridal intercessors seeking Your face... longing to draw near... hungry for intimacy and communion... seeking Your kingdom and Your righteousness. 

Day 17 - A Beautiful Dream

Desert Flowers HD wallpaper
by Thomas Muler

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Last night I had a very special dream.

I was in a room with a group of people. The details are hazy now, so I do not even recall who these people were. All I remember is that I was asked to share a Bible passage with them. I reached for my Bible and in my spirit, I heard this clear instruction:

"Read Isaiah 35 to them."

So I opened my Bible and began to read.

There were other events in my dream that I no longer remember.

But when I woke up this morning, that part of my dream was still very clear.

How happy it made me feel to awaken to a direct, fresh word from my Abba Father for me:

Isaiah 35

The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them,

And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose;

It shall blossom abundantly and rejoice,

Even with joy and singing.

The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,

The excellence of Carmel and Sharon.

They shall see the glory of the LORD,

The excellency of our God.

Strengthen the weak hands,

And make firm the feeble knees.

Say to those who are fearful-hearted,

"Be strong, do not fear!

Behold, your God will come with vengeance,

With the recompense of God;

He will come and save you.

Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
And the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped,
Then the lame shall leap like a deer,
And the tongue of the dumb sing.
For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness,
And streams in the desert.
The parched ground shall become a pool,
And the thirsty land springs of water;
In the habitation of jackals, where each lay,
There shall be grass with reeds and rushes.

A highway shall be there, and a road,
And it shall be called the Highway of Holiness.
The unclean shall not pass over it,
But it shall be for others.
Whoever walks the road, although a fool,
Shall not go astray.
No lion shall be there,
Nor shall any ravenous beast go up on it;
It shall not be found there.
And the ransomed of the LORD shall return,
And come to Zion with singing,
With everlasting joy on their heads.
They shall obtain joy and gladness,
And sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

Day 10 - The Father Rejoices Over Me

Welcome Home!

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In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:

Do not fear:

Zion, let not your hands be weak,

The Lord your God in your midst

The Mighty One, will save;

He will rejoice over you with gladness,

He will quiet you with His love,

He will rejoice over you with singing.

- Zephaniah 3:17