Tag: pilgrimage

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Psalms Devotionals 2

As we are on this pilgrimage

Psalms

The title of Psalm 121 (and all the psalms from 120-134) is “A song of ascents.”

These were songs the Jews sang on their pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

But it strikes me, we also are on a pilgrimage…a pilgrimage to a new Jerusalem. (Revelation 21:2)

And it is a journey. God does not simply sweep us to heaven once we become Christians.

The journey can be difficult. The journey can at times be painful.

But this psalm reminds us of where our help comes from.

It reminds us that the Creator of heaven and earth is with us. (2)

It reminds us that he never slumbers nor sleeps. (4)

And each and every day, no matter what we go through, his hand is on us.

This psalm reminds me of Jesus’ words to his disciples.

I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you. (John 14:18)

More, Jesus’ prayer for his disciples (and for us) reflects a lot of this psalm.

Holy Father, protect them by your name that you have given me, so that they may be one as we are one…

I am not praying that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. (John 17:11, 15)

Again, this does not mean we will never go through struggle or pain. Many of Jesus’ disciples died for their faith.

But God is walking with us every step of the way. He will never abandon us. And he will lead us home.

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Psalms Devotionals

Hearts set on the highway

I love this psalm. It is a beautiful psalm from start to finish. I could spend days meditating on it.

But here’s what struck me today.

Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.

As they go through the Valley of Baca
they make it a place of springs;
the early rain also covers it with pools.

They go from strength to strength;
each one appears before God in Zion. (Psalm 84:5-7, ESV)

So often, we forget a very important truth: this earth is not our home. Our home is in Zion, that is, Jerusalem. Not the earthly Jerusalem, but the heavenly one.

And so our hearts are not to be set on this world, on this life. Our eyes are always to be lifted to our true home.

In this world, we often go through the valley of “Baca,” that is, the valley of tears. But as our eyes turn to God, he fills us with the fresh and living water of his Spirit.

We don’t walk this path, this highway alone. The Holy Spirit walks with us, filling us with new strength day by day. And he will do so until the day we appear before God in heaven.

That’s how people like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob lived. All of them suffered through pain, loss, and tears in their lives. (Genesis 23:1, 24:67, 47:9, 48:7).

All of them experienced times of silence from God. But they all remembered that they were mere foreigners, or at best, temporary residents of this world.

And so they kept walking the path God had given them, believing that he is good.

As the writer of Hebrews put it,

These all died in faith, although they had not received the things that were promised. But they saw them from a distance, greeted them, and confessed that they were foreigners and temporary residents on the earth.

Now those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.

If they were thinking about where they came from, they would have had an opportunity to return. But they now desire a better place—a heavenly one.

Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them. (Hebrews 11:13-16)

So through all our trials, all our troubles, all our fears, let us all keep walking down that highway, with the Spirit at our side, setting our sights on the city God has prepared for us all.

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Psalms

Setting our sights

Pilgrimage

Psalm 84 is one of the most beautiful psalms, in my opinion, and one of my favorites.  And it’s one in which we are encouraged to set our sights, not on the things of this earth, but on eternity.

It was a song that was used to describe the joy of people making the pilgrimage to Jerusalem to worship God, but I think it equally applies to our pilgrimage to the New Jerusalem.

The psalmist starts by singing,

How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty!

My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.  (Psalm 84:1-2)

I love the old chorus based on this psalm that puts it this way, “There’s a hunger deep inside my soul.”

I have to say that this is where I want to be in my walk with God.  Hungering and thirsting after him.

I have to admit, though, that I’ve been feeling kind of dry, spiritually.  And so I’m praying, “Lord, I yearn for you.  I want more of you in my life.  I long to be in your presence once again.”

I think that these are the sentiments the psalmist is expressing here.

I love the picture the psalmist gives next of the sparrow finding a home near God’s altar.

It makes me think of Jesus’ words of how much more valuable we are to God than the sparrows.  If he welcomes them into his presence, how much more does he welcome us?

He then expresses the joy of worship, singing,

Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you.  (4)

But after singing this, he turns his thoughts from rejoicing in the house of God to the journey to get there.  And he sings,

Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.  (5)

Two things strike me here.  The pilgrims set their hearts on the place they were heading for, not on the place they were at.

We are to do the same as Christians.  This world is not our home.  And we should be setting our hearts on where our true home is.

But as we set out on that journey, we do so not in our own strength, but in God’s.  We don’t have the power to make it on our own.  We need Him.

In verse 6, it says,

As they pass through the Valley of Baka (or the “valley of tears”), they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools.

Through this life, we go through our valleys of tears.  We experience hurt and loss.  Yet God turns them into a place of springs.  He covers them with the pools of his grace that act as a balm to our wounds.

As a result,

They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion. (7)

As Isaiah wrote,

But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.  (Isaiah 40:31)

So the psalmist cries out to God and prays,

Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty;
listen to me, God of Jacob.

Look on our shield, O God;
look with favor on your anointed one.  (Psalm 84:8-9)

While it refers to God’s favor upon the king, for us as Christians, it refers to God’s favor upon his Son, who is our shield in this life.

He then closes with the blessings and joy of those who worship, singing,

Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.

Lord Almighty, blessed is the one who trusts in you.  (10-12)

We are mere pilgrims in this life.  The things of this world are mere shadows of the glory that lies ahead.  So let us set our sights not on this world, but on God.

Where are you setting your sights?