Week 30
A Heart Set on Pilgrimage
Psalm 84
“Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, whose heart is set on pilgrimage.”
Psalm 84 (NKJV)
Psalm 84 is sung by a heart homesick for the presence of God. The psalmist does not merely admire the courts of the Lord; his whole being longs and cries out for the living God.
Even the sparrow finds a home near the altar. The image is small and tender: the Lord of hosts makes room for vulnerable creatures near His presence.
Those who dwell in God’s house are blessed, but so are those still traveling toward it. Faithfulness is not measured only by arrival. God blesses the heart that has set its direction toward Him.
Pilgrimage passes through the Valley of Baca—the valley of weeping. Desire for God does not bypass grief. Yet pilgrims make it a spring because sorrow encountered with God becomes a place of hidden provision.
They go from strength to strength. The journey does not depend upon storing enough strength at the beginning. Grace meets them in stages, giving today’s strength for today’s road.
The destination is not chiefly a place but God Himself. One day in His courts is better than a thousand elsewhere because the Giver is better than every gift enjoyed apart from Him.
The Lord is sun and shield: illumination for the way and protection along it. He withholds no good thing, though His wisdom may challenge our definition of good.
Set your heart again. You may not see the whole road, but you can choose its direction. Let every valley deepen longing until the journey becomes communion with the One toward whom you travel.
In Conversation with A. W. Tozer
Tozer described the pursuit of God as desire awakened by God’s prior grace. The pilgrim seeks because the living God has already drawn near and stirred hunger.
Psalm 84 gives that pursuit a communal road, honest valleys, and a sure destination. Holy longing is sustained not by temperament but by the faithful Lord who supplies strength.
A Prayer
Holy God,
Living God, gather my divided desires and set my heart toward You.
Meet me in every valley of weeping. Make places of sorrow into springs of grace, and give strength for the portion of road before me.
Be my sun and shield. Let one day of conscious fellowship with You outweigh every lesser promise. Amen.
Dwell This Week with God
Awaken to His presence.
Return often to Psalm 84. Read without hurry, and allow the truth of who God is to become larger than every lesser concern.