No Shortcuts

Psalm 84 begins with a longing for the dwelling place of the Lord. The psalmist speaks of how even the sparrow and swallow find a home near His altar. He declares that those who dwell in God’s house are blessed.

Then I got to verse 6.

“As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs…”

That verse made me pause.

The Valley of Baca has often been associated with weeping, and it immediately made me think about something I would rather avoid on this faith walk: sorrow.

But one word stood out to me.

Through.

They pass through the valley.

There are no shortcuts. Sometimes, you simply have to go through.

But through also means there is movement. There is progression.

And while I may hate going through seasons of sorrow, there is comfort in knowing that the valley is not the whole journey.

That same word appears in Psalm 23:4:

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…”

Both passages remind me that there will be things in this life we have to go through.

Trials.
Sickness.
Sorrow.
Loss.
Heartache.

We don’t know exactly what will come, but Jesus already told us that we would have trouble in this world.

So the question isn’t whether we will ever face a difficult season.

The question is:

What will we do while we’re going through it?

Will we trust?
Will we doubt?
Will we panic?
Will we pout?

How will we handle the through season?

Do you trust God?

I mean, really trust Him?

Because this is where trust in God becomes more than something we say.

It is easy to say, “I trust God,” when everything is going according to plan. But trust is tested when the road gets difficult. When prayers seem unanswered. When circumstances don’t make sense. When God doesn’t lead us around the valley, but instead allows us to walk through it.

And yet, there is another truth we can hold on to:

God is with us.

Yes, we may have to face trials, but we do not have to face them alone.

Psalm 84:11 says:

“For the Lord God is a sun and shield…”

He is our light.
He is our protection.
He is our help.

And Psalm 23:4 says:

“I will fear no evil, for you are with me.”

He is present with us in the valley.

Isn’t that encouraging?

We may not understand why God allows through seasons. We may wish there were another route. We may pray for Him to take us out of it.

But even when He doesn’t remove the valley immediately, He can sustain us while we walk through it.

And Psalm 84 gives us another beautiful picture.

“As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs…”

They don’t simply survive the valley.

There is refreshment there.

Then verse 7 says:

“They go from strength to strength…”

What if the valley is not only something to endure?

What if God uses the very place we wanted to avoid to deepen our trust, strengthen our faith, build perseverance, and teach us greater dependence on Him?

James tells us that the testing of our faith produces perseverance. Romans reminds us that suffering produces perseverance, character, and hope.

So maybe there are things God develops in us in the valley that we would never gain by taking a shortcut around it.

We may not like the through season.

We may not understand it.

But God can still meet us there.

He can refresh us there.

He can strengthen us there.

And He can continue shaping us there.

There are no shortcuts on this faith walk.

But there is Someone who will always walk with through you.

So keep going.

The valley may be part of your journey, but it is not your final destination.