Eastern Oregon | Stephen L Hufman

I have a little secret,
whispering somewhere behind a door.
I try to keep it quiet,
Though the silence makes it roar.
I have a hidden shame,
I keep it sealed away.
But the moment I relax,
it creeps out to wreck my day.
I have a vile rodent
scurrying somewhere in the wall.
I set out traps to catch it,
but the sly critter avoids them all.
I think tomorrow will be better,
I’ll finally get control.
Then I wake up to find,
They’ve chewed another hole.
O Lord tear down this old house.
My life to You I bring.
Please build in me Your temple,
fit for You my Lord and King.

Hear my cry, O God;
listen to my prayer.
From the ends of the earth I call to you,
I call as my heart grows faint;
lead me to the rock that is higher than I. For you have been my refuge,
a strong tower against the foe.
I long to dwell in your tent forever
and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.
Selah (a pause for praise, worship and reflection)
For you have heard my vows, O God;
you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.
Psalm 61:1-5

Baca means: place of weeping, valley of misery.

I like this verse, but on my first reading I thought it meant I should be all cheery in the Valley of Baca (Psalm 84:6). When that didn’t happen, I wondered what was the matter with me? On further reading, I realized I had misunderstood the true blessing. The main point of the psalm is not about circumstances, or depression, or grief, it’s about nearness of God:

My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. (Psalm 84:2)

The blessing, the springs of water are found in “God with us,” Immanuel. When I meditate on Immanuel, letting my heart and soul dwell upon “God is with me,” the pain and fear are somehow less. An old Scandinavian proverb states: “A joy shared is twice the joy. A sorrow shared is half the sorrow.” How true when you share it with God.