From Strength to Strength – Part 1

“Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.
As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
they make it a place of springs;
The autumn rains also cover it with pools.
They go from strength to strength,
till each appears before God in Zion.”

Psalm 84:5-7, from the NIV

This passage has been my rallying cry for the past two decades. It meant a lot when I first discovered it and dug into its meaning. Many Biblical passages offer encouragement, strength, and hope. But this one—this one keeps showing up. Life goes on and I forget, but I always come back to this. It has become the theme of my life, my life’s purpose: to go “From strength to strength” until I see God face to face.

Recently I delved even deeper into this passage than I had before. I would love to share with you what it has spoken to me. There is such a richness here not glimpsed from only a surface reading.

Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.

Psalms 84:5

Blessed are those, not who are strong, independent, capable, accomplished, have-it-all-together, or perfect, but “those whose strength is in you” (Jehovah). Those humble enough to recognize their source, who realize their need for God’s help, are the ones He will bless and pour into. The ones who realize, “Every good and perfect gift is from above” (James 1:17). The ones who know, like the old hymn, “I need Thee every hour.” The ones who acknowledge that “…all that we have accomplished you have done for us” (Isaiah 26:12).

These admittedly weak people who receive God’s blessing have “set their hearts on pilgrimage.” In medieval times, pilgrimage to Jerusalem began as an act of penance (though by Chaucer’s time, it was turning into a holiday for tourism). Today, in the Muslim world, pilgrimage continues to be practiced; in the Western world, not so much. We are comfortable in our air-conditioned homes, with our busy schedules, comfortable social lives, and regular church attendance. But we don’t talk about pilgrimage, literally or figuratively.

This Psalm doesn’t seem to be advocating either penance or tourism. Rather, pilgrimage (as I take it) is the attitude that “This world is not my home, I’m just a-passing through,” like another old hymn. Pilgrimage is the awareness that there is something more than this life. It involves a certain detachment from the temporary and a longing for the eternal, the steadfast, for what really matters. Pilgrimage is setting our hearts on something that is not here, not yet realized. Something beyond our experience. Pilgrimage is the seeking for more of God, being open to the “MORE” that He has in store for us. Pilgrimage is living with eternity in view.

This verse doesn’t promise God’s blessings to those who merely like to think or talk about pilgrimage. It is for those who “have set their hearts on pilgrimage.” To me, this sounds like commitment. Or determination. Like an insatiable hunger that continually drives one’s actions. There is nothing half-hearted about “setting one’s heart” on something. It is the foremost motivator. And God, who sees the heart, longs to bless that.

As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
they make it a place of springs;
The autumn rains also cover it with pools.

Psalms 84:6

The Valley of Baca—what in the world? At first glance, this appears to be another random Old Testament place name thrown into the text that means nothing to us today. But there is a greater significance even for us who have no knowledge or experience of the Holy Land. (It is, in fact, a real valley near Jerusalem.)

According to Strong’s Concordance, this word Baca also means “the weeping tree,” probably a balsam or mulberry tree. Both of these come from the root meaning “to weep, to bemoan, bewail, complain, make lamentation, mourn, etc.” The Interlinear Bible translates this verse as “…the valley of weeping….” I don’t know much about balsam trees, but I can relate to weeping.

The pilgrims mentioned by the psalmist are passing through valleys of weeping. Jesus spoke of the need to take up our cross and follow him, if any would come after him. There was commitment, even painful commitment. Pilgrimage in the traditional sense is not meant to be fun or easy. This makes me think of the well-quoted “valley of the shadow of death” in Psalm 23. It is a season of grief. It doesn’t last forever, but can be painful, or fearful, or both.

Everyone goes through peaks and valleys in life. Everyone experiences some difficulty, loss, or grief at one point or another. But these pilgrims do something positive with these adverse experiences. They “make it a place of springs” (or a “fountain,” as in The Interlinear Bible). A place of springs is a joy and a refuge to a weary, thirsty traveler. Springs of water are beautiful, refreshing, and satisfying. These pilgrims don’t whine or wait around for circumstances to change. They take their pain and MAKE something good out of it, something that not only meets their own needs but blesses others.

Oh, how I want to be this kind of pilgrim! I don’t want my circumstances, my frustrations, and my griefs to shrivel me into a bitter old woman. I want my life, no matter how hard, to glorify God and bless others. And I want to find joy, too! I want to make my valley of weeping into a place of cold, refreshing springs that give life and joy to myself, my family, and those around me.

“The autumn rains also cover it with pools.” The Interlinear Bible translates this as “yea, the rain clothes with blessings.” When these pilgrims take this attitude of determination to be the change rather than be changed by circumstances, then refreshing also comes from other sources. They didn’t bring the autumn rains, but eventually the rains came and refreshed the water supply. In our lives, too, we go through stressful times, dry seasons, or even periods of intense grieving. But if we wait in faithfulness and patience—and expectation—we will see the refreshing that God supplies. The rain can clothe us with blessings, too.

They go from strength to strength,
till each appears before God in Zion.”

Psalms 84:7

To me, this verse is the most beautiful part of the entire passage. Doesn’t this reflect the actual patterns of our lives? We have peaks and valleys. We experience joys and sorrows. We are strong during some days or seasons, and so weak in others. We never experience a life-long heightened spiritual experience. Our walk with God is better at times than at others. (Even our relationships with people ebb and flow.)

There is such hope here! The times of weakness are not counted against these pilgrims. Weak moments do not define their journey. Rather, their journey is defined by strength. We can have times of doubt, of questioning, of confusion, or even of sin. But the heart that truly seeks God keeps coming back. Just like King David in the Old Testament. He sinned terribly and repeatedly, but he was “a man after God’s own heart,” so he continued to come back after every failure. May we be like David in this.

Taking this to a deeper level, maybe this is not speaking of the pilgrim’s own strength or achievement. Maybe it is about the times God’s arm strengthened them in the midst of direst need. Maybe this is a testament to God’s perfect faithfulness to strengthen his people.

What is the ultimate destination or fulfillment of this pilgrimage? “Till each appears before God in Zion.” The goal of our journey is union with God himself. The pilgrim, no matter how many struggles, reaches the end, the welcoming arms of Jesus. The desire of every pilgrim is “Well done, good and faithful servant.” “Well done” doesn’t mean there was no pain or grief. It doesn’t mean there weren’t struggles. It doesn’t mean that we were victors over every temptation, or that we never questioned God.

It means we kept our focus on the end goal, never allowing our trials to take our eyes off Jesus, never turning our hearts away from God. It means plugging on, no matter how tired or discouraged we are. And it means allowing God’s blessings to flow through us to others, even when we are weary.

I can’t get there on my own. I can’t be the perfect wife, mother, friend, or minister to those in need. I can’t maintain my own spiritual fervor every moment of every day, without distractions or pitfalls. I can’t understand everything God does or doesn’t do, every prayer that goes unanswered, or every grief allowed into my life.

BUT…we can “fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2).

We CAN “Consider him who endured…so [we] will not grow weary and lose heart” (Hebrews 12:3).

Whatever difficult situations life finds us in right now, may we all, in this way, “go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.”