Monday Mantra – The Blessing of Pilgrimage

Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. Psalm 84:5 NIV

Many years ago we took a vacation out west across the United States in a conversion van with 5 of our children and Pam pregnant with Melody. Lots and lots of van time on the road with the kids. This was before GPS, when road maps were our guide.

While in Nevada, I made a wrong turn south, but saw a road on the map heading west which would get us back on our path. I turned right, it was a dirt road leading through a desert patch of land. We paused  to determine if I should turn around. We made the decision to travel the dirt road for a few miles to seee if it would get better or connect with our road.

We chose to take the dirt path. I stopped the van. In front of us was a very shallow creek with mud leading up to it. So here where are in the middle of “nowhere” Nevada with the option of getting our van stuck in the mud, with only telephone lines to remind us that civilization still existed. 

Speed. Yep, that’s what came into my head next. If we had enough speed we could coast over the mud and make it across the creek. Pam was not nearly as convinced with the plan. Even our cell phones were out of reach at the moment. I backed up several hundred yards and speed up toward our mushy creek….I finish the story at the end of the blog.

In this passage today, David reminds us how  blessing rests upon us..strength from God. A genuine connection with God has the provision for strength to navigate life’s challenges. It’s not the absence of challenges, but rather strength to endure and make it through the obstacles.

The second metaphor David references is hearts set on pilgrimage. The Hebrew word for pilgrimage is a term for ways or specifically highways. This would be a roadway that is cleared for commerce or royal travel. It signifies a path where destraction and clutter have been removed, such as Isaiah’s mention of making a roadway in the desert. 

It also connects the idea of the journey to Zion for the festivals such as Passover. These travels were joyful and somber as they would remember the context for each gathering. Families would live out Deuteronomy 6 of talking about God’s law as the walked along the roads.

The key to the strength and the pilgrimage was not the journey, but the destination. Strength comes by faith in trusting God to help us beyond ourselves. The passion of the heart looks to the end of our journey and see God waiting and cheering for us each step along the way.

Heart set on pilgrimage reminds us that God has our whole attention. We are living out “loving the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. God is not an extra chapter in our lives, He is the book we read from cover to cover.

Today, I pray that you take a moment to assess your journey. Are you overwhelmed with the distractions and problems you are facing? Draw strength from God. Are you pursuing other paths, not leading to righteousness? Make the course directions in life and heart. Have you lost hope while on the journey of life’s problems? Receive the blessing of confessing and redirecting your heart toward pilgrimage.

When my speed reached 50mph, the front tires hit the mud. The van swerved back and forth through the sloshy mush as I corrected the steering trying to keep it straight. Everyone was cheering me on…well I think Pam was more in intense intercession that we would make it through by God’s help and she would not have to overcome the temptation to say, “I told you so”.

Did I lead my kids into more of a problem or for the ride of our lifetime? The slow motion event only lasted a few seconds, but we made it through to the dry land on the other side of the creek. Within one mile we made it back to the hard pavement road and back toward our destination in California.

God gave us strength and wisdom and yes – the blessing of favor that I did not deserve, except my heart was fixed on Him. I wasn’t that good, but He is always that faithful.

Blessings Love y’all