The Cost of Spring Making

Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose hearts are the highways of Zion. As they go through the Valley of Baca they make it a place of springs.

Psalm 84:5-6

The desires of our heart, the ones originating in God’s heart, then planted in ours by His hesed love, often come at a cost.

To make the Valley of Baca a place of springs is a noble desire. There is much talk of refreshing and rest these days, for the world is wounded and weary. As followers of Jesus, we know the Source of all rest. He is our personal Friend and the Lord of our lives. It would seem, therefore, that it would be easy to be a source of rest and refreshment, a place of springs, for the weary world. It seems right that the dark, winding places in life become something helpful in the end.

However, there’s this problem of the cost of spring making.

The Hebrew root of the word Baca is bakhah, “to weep or be afflicted.” The Valley of Weeping is marked on the map of pilgrimage for every follower of Jesus. He went before us, and He walked His own lonely valley of affliction. Indeed, Jesus made the Valley of the Cross a place called the Spring of Salvation.

The Bible speaks frankly with us. It lays out bare principles of truth that rule human life.

According to Psalm 84, the rule of springs is that they come from affliction. The cost of spring-making is pain. #hopeinsuffering Share on X

Thirst is, after all, an affliction. And water is needed to quench thirst.

The spring gushing out of the rock above my childhood home in the Appalachian mountains always intrigued me. I spent summer, spring, fall, and winter by its waters. The noise of its unapologetic burst from the depths of the earth was a comfort to my fearful heart. The spring never made excuses for its muchness, and that was a consolation to me, a girl who seemed to be too much for just about everyone.

The spring knew a secret. The lightning, the violent shifting of the plates of the earth long before I walked that mountain, had opened a source of fresh spring water. No breaking, no violence could stop the springing up of something good. As a little girl, I understood this. It gave me hope.

I had no idea in those years of refuge on the mountain that God was creating an album of images to illustrate the truths He would teach me for the rest of my life. The rule of the mountain spring has guided my life ever since and informed my understanding of the Place of Springs.

I want to be a spring-maker for the wounded and weary. But if I understand correctly the rule of springs, they are made in the Valley of Weeping. The cost of spring-making gives me pause. I want to avoid pain.

This desire of my heart, given by God, requires some thought now. Some careful calculation of cost and time. I must consider the resources spring-making will exact from me so others can be refreshed. The real possibility that it may shift the landscape of my life, break things once solid so something good can gush forth.

The Bible is honest about affliction. And I must be honest in return. Truthful about my fears, my own need for refreshing, and my own need for a place of springs. This brings me full circle, from a focus on the cost to me, to a focus on the One who already paid the cost in full. Herein lies the gospel tucked right into the Valley of Baca, right here in the pilgrim way of Psalm 84.

The mountain spring of my childhood knew another secret.

Jesus walks with us through the Valley of Baca and He has already paid the cost of spring-making. He promised that one day when we reach the other side of this earthly valley, our thirst will be quenched forever. Then He will lead us to the Spring of the Water of Life. 

This is where we’re headed, little pilgrim. Do not fear. Walk with Him and weep awhile along the way if you need to. Comfort Himself will hold your hand as you go. He will help you make the Valley of Baca a place of springs. He’s covered the cost for you and me.

He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty, I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life.

Revelation 21:6

Lord, walk with me in this Valley and help me make it a place of springs. Amen.

@audreycfrank

Image by Kanenori from Pixabay