Dear Friend,

In the promised land, unlike Egypt, there were fountains of living (fresh, free-flowing) water in many places. Moses described it glowingly as "a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills" (Deuteronomy 8:7).

But note, not all these "fountains" and "springs" were in the expected places, like the flowing, verdant hills of the Shephelah or Carmel regions. Some were in more unlikely locations: dry, dreary valleys, like the unknown but famous "Valley of Baca" (Psalm 84:6), or, more literally translated, the "valley of weeping" (NLT).

In that valley of pain and grief and crying, God had hidden rich, untapped supplies of refreshment and joy and fulfillment. If, as believed, this valley was a dark gorge on one of the roads by which the Jews trekked to their festivals in Jerusalem, this valley of sorrow led God's people to their greatest experience of refreshment, joy, and fulfillment - the presence of God in the temple complex! And the psalmist adds something more.

In the valley of weeping were hidden "pools" where refreshing rains fell in the autumn (just before Sukkot, or Tabernacles). So, as Jewish pilgrims trekked toward God's presence, and became weary with their arduous earthly walk, they could drink in fresh water from heaven there and, restored and revived with new energy, walk on. And on. Until they were in God's presence!

My fellow Christians, we are spiritual Jews on sacred pilgrimage through this dry, weary, weeping world, bound for an everlasting Festival of Tabernacles in God's presence in New Jerusalem. And, though it is rarely told us in this hyper-positive-minded American church, weeping is a part of our journey. And, if we react rightly to it, every valley will open up new springs of spiritual blessing in our life.

So, if you're wounded, you're winning. If you're weak, you're getting stronger: "they are the stronger as they go" (Psalm 84:7, Moffatt). If you're confused, you're about to receive greater clarity, new Son-light that makes life's enigmas easy to understand from God's viewpoint. If you feel hopeless, the Spirit will soon open a new fountain flowing with irrepressible joy - the fulfillment of your long-awaited hopes, and much more.

Yes, all of these blessings are waiting to spring up in your life as you pass through the dark, seemingly endless, Son-less gorge of the Valley of Weeping. That is, if you (a) don't get offended with Christ over your hardship and sink into the hellish quicksand of self-pity; but, instead (b) start digging for the spiritual blessings the Holy Spirit has faithfully and abundantly rained into your pools of pain.

Jesus addressed the first of these two requisites when He sent a message to John the Baptist, who was grieved and confused over his ongoing, unjust incarceration: "Blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me" (Luke 7:23). Humbly and wisely, John received Jesus' exhortation and went on, unoffended, to finish his course.

And Isaac gives us a clear object lesson on how we should dig for the water of life God has reserved for us in the valley of death. "And Isaac digged ... the wells of water" in his painful valley of rejection at the hands of the envious Philistines (Genesis 26:18).

Not only so, Isaac was very persistent in his digging. When the Philistines persisted in making life miserable for him, he persisted in finding more fountains of life-water. And more. And more still. Until, one day, they stopped resisting him, and gave up the fight. And Isaac said, "Rehoboth [roomy] ... for now the Lord hath made room for us and we shall be fruitful in the land" (Genesis 26:22). Thus, spiritually speaking, Isaac came up out of his "valley of weeping" and spent the rest of his days in the good land of joyful, satisfying fulfillment.

So, follow John's and Isaac's examples. Realizing that Jesus' goodness and faithfulness are not in the least changed by your adversities, however painful they may be, determine to finish your course unoffended with Him. Don't call your low season a valley of weeping. Call it instead a spiritual spring, a valley of joy, because that's exactly what it is: a fountain of life disguised as a gorge of destruction. And, knowing that fountains of life lie just under your desert of death, start digging, as Isaac did.

Dig into God's Word, which has rivers of living water running through it just waiting for you to tap into them. Dig out a cave of prayer and revert to it for refreshment often. Dig your heels into the holy ground of God's presence, and worship and commune with Him there, allowing no distractions to keep you from seeking His face daily. And while you're digging, dig two fresh graves, one for your besetting sins and another for your stubborn self-will. Finally, persist in these "diggings" until they are firmly established, holy habits. The result?

You will survive your valley. You will find fountains of new life daily in God's Word, prayer, and worship. You will grow "the stronger as you go." And, in the end, Christ will make your very life a fountain that refreshes other weary, disillusioned, confused pilgrims. As they descend into their valleys of sorrow, you will stand by, exhorting them as the psalmist has us, "Every valley in your life is just another fountain. Be of good cheer!"

Oh, and don't forget, we're headed for an everlasting Festival of Tabernacles in the presence of God in New Jerusalem. And festival time is nearer than you think.

Digging, and drinking from my fountains,

Greg Hinnant
Greg Hinnant Ministries