Favorite Psalm

My friend Corrie was challenging us to write or discuss our favorite Psalm. It's so hard to pick a favorite because the Psalms are probably one of my favorite books to read...but for right now, I think it's Psalm 84. I think I'll post parts here with comments...

"How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord Almighty!
My soul yearns, even faints,
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out or the living God." (vs. 1-2)

I remember Pastor Cecil preaching on this passage a while back. It was written by the sons of Korah. They were a branch of Levites who King David appointed to serve in the temple worship. What an awesome responsibility!! Unfortunately, later on, they grew discontent with their situation and got into an argument with Moses (Numbers 16:1-33). Basically, they had one of the BEST positions and they got greedy and wanted to obtain the priesthood as well. They challenged Moses' authority. Well, guess what happened? It didn't end well, friends!

Number 16:32 "And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, with their households and all Korah's men and all their possessions. They went down alive into the grave, with everything they owned; the earth closed over them, and they perished and were gone forever."

Ouch. This passage always reminds me to enjoy God's favor and responsibility with humility and thankfulness. Greed and discontent always lead to misery, even if the earth may not swallow you whole.

Moving on... vs. 5-7
"Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
who have set their hearts on pilgrimage,
As they pass through the Valley of Baca, (*this literally meant the Place of Sorrow or Valley of Weeping)
they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with pools (or blessings)
They go from strength to strength,
till each appears before God in Zion."

I want to be the type of person who is able to pass through the Valley of Sorrow and overcome. I want to move from strength to strength, not stopping to wallow in self-pity or hardship. I remember Beth Moore saying one time that you can either be tested in the fire or refined through the fire. Sometimes you have to pass through to get to the other side...but you have to KEEP GOING and don't stop in the valley.

This is probably one of my biggest struggles in my daily walk. I'm a dweller. When something bad happens, I dwell on it instead of moving through the valley and going from strength to strength. I have a hard time turning situations over to God and allowing Him to be in charge--too much of a control freak I guess.

Even this week, something disappointing and disheartening happened to me. I told myself in my mind, "I'm not going to let this get me down." But my mind raced all night long, and I continued to dwell on my disappointment for an entire day before FINALLY I realized it's out of my hands. In God's wisdom, He has caused this to happen. Perhaps I heard his voice wrong? Perhaps He has a different plan. Perhaps this is a test of my faith. I don't always understand why things happen the way they do, but I have to trust that God knows my tomorrow a lot better than I do. He's always been faithful, and I have no doubt He will continue to be.

Anyone else have any experiences about moving from strength to strength? Any other struggling valley dwellers out there?