84 How lovely is your dwelling place,
O LORD of hosts!
My soul longs, yes, faints
for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and flesh sing for joy
to the living God.
Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O LORD of hosts,
my King and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in your house,
ever singing your praise! Selah
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.
O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer;
give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
Behold our shield, O God;
look on the face of your anointed!
For a day in your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
the LORD bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does he withhold
from those who walk uprightly.
O LORD of hosts,
blessed is the one who trusts in you!
(ESV)
A very wise woman (Mona Jean Workman) used to describe the highs and lows of her life alongside God as an “adventure.” Throughout that adventure, there were valleys and mountaintops. This is similar to how the psalmist describes the journey to God’s temple.
How blessed is the man whose strength is in You, In whose heart are the highways to Zion! 6 Passing through the valley of Baca they make it a spring; The early rain also covers it with blessings. 7 They go from strength to strength, Every one of them appears before God in Zion.
Psalms 84:5-7 NASB
The pilgrimage for those who left their home to travel to the temple would be one of joy, not obligation. The valley of Baca means “valley of weeping” and it describes the various difficulties that one would experience on such a trip. Even though the journey would bring hardships, the destination was worth it. Every step closer to God’s presence led to a strengthening of soul and spirit. Think about that for a moment.
The text describes this as going from “strength to strength” before finally appearing before God. Is this not what our lives look like yet today? Out of joy, we follow Jesus down the path that He has written on our hearts. It’s certainly a paradoxical adventure filled with struggle, hardship, celebration, and victory. However, it is in the “strength to strength” moments where we are reminded of God’s faithfulness. We see His hand with every step and it gives us the courage to continue forward to the next “strength” He wills in our life.
What does your adventure look like? Where do you need to be reminded that He is faithful during the ups and downs of this adventure? Those who never step out on a pilgrimage of following Jesus will never experience the radical, miraculous “strength to strength” power of our Father in heaven.