Going in Strength

The next verse I want to cover in Psalm 84 is verse 7, which says, "They go from strength to strength; every one of them appears before God in Zion." The question is, whose strength? The answer is found back in verse 5 where we are told that it is the strength of the Lord. Last time in this Psalm we were on a pilgrimage walking through a valley of weeping and desolation, only to find that God met us there and turned that valley into an oasis. Now we find that we can walk that valley in strength - but it is in the strength of the Lord. We don't have to do it on our own. And while our strength fails, His only increases.

Do you ever wonder if you are going to make it through the valley? I mean, living the Christian life is so tough. There are disappointments and difficulties aplenty. There is pain, sorrow, and hardship. Do you ever wonder if you can hang on and make it to heaven? This verse says there is no doubt about it. You will! You will, if your strength is in the Lord.

See how verse 7 ends? "Every one of them appears before God in Zion." This isn't talking about the Zion in Israel, but the heavenly Zion - the abode of God. This is the assurance, not that every human makes it heaven, but that every born again believer appears in heaven. This isn't talking some universalism drivel; that God will save everyone no matter how reprobate and blasphemous or whether they believe or not. This is perseverance of the Saints by the power of God. It is only believers that walk in the strength of the Lord.

"Well, I don't know, pastor," you might say. "I'm just not that strong." That's just the point. None of us are. We could never make it to heaven in our own strength. But we couldn't save ourselves either. We needed a savior. In the same way, we need the savior to keep us saved. Jesus can and Jesus will. We can trust that.

Do you remember what Jesus said in John 10:27-30?

"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one."

What does Jesus give us? Eternal life; not some temporary respite to see if we can hold on. And whose strength is it anyway that keeps us? It is the combined strength of both Jesus and God the Father. And just how strong do you think God's hand is?

They both have their hands on you, clutching you tightly. Now how could you ever get out of there? How can anything pluck you out from between their hands? Nothing can! So what are you worried about? It is the strength of the Lord that saved us, and it is the strength of the Lord that keep us. It is God's strength that gets us through the valleys of weeping and desolation, and God's strength that keeps on getting us through all the way to that heavenly Zion.

A Heart Set on Pilgrimage

Psalm 84:5 says, "Blessed is the man . . . whose heart is set on pilgrimage." Let's think about that word, pilgrimage, for a moment. The Old King James translates that same phrase as, "In whose heart are the ways of them." The word for ways, or pilgrimage, is usually translated as highways. Therefore, this makes it sounds like, "Happy is the fellow who has a highway in his heart."

I've been accused of having wanderlust a time or two because I like to travel and have moved around a lot following God's call in our lives. This verse seems to say, that's good! That is probably taking the verse of out context though. The real meaning is this: We need to be on a constant pilgrimage to draw closer and closer to God.

Think about Abraham. His life was one of constant pilgrimage. He wandered from Ur down to Canaan, then to Egypt and back again. He was always on a pilgrimage. Why? Hebrews 11:9-10 says:

"By faith he sojourned in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise,for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God."

Abraham wasn't content with an earthly city. He wanted to be where God was at. He longed for heaven. He was on a pilgrimage to God. There is never real contentment in our hearts until we get there. Shouldn't we all be on that pilgrimage?

Do you long to draw ever closer to God? Do you do whatever you can to improve your fellowship with Him? Is your heart set on pilgrimage? That pilgrimage is the path to blessing. And by that, I'm not talking about salvation. A lot of Christians who have trusted Christ for salvation live lives with little real blessing in them. But maybe this is why. They aren't on a pilgrimage. They aren't constantly on a journey to get to the heart of God. Are you?

But where will our pilgrimage take us? Psalm 84:6 shows us the pathway. It says: "As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a spring; the rain also covers it with pools." Where is the Valley of Baca? Nobody knows - not geographically. This may have simply been a symbolic term, because the Valley of Baca means the Valley of Weeping. That makes perfect sense. Baca means to weep. Think about it. Don't people usually find God most often during times of personal tragedy; during some crisis in their lives?

When things are going great, when we are healthy, when or bank account is full, we act like we don't need God. We tend to function in our own strength and live our lives on our own. But when tragedy strikes, and the tears start to flow, and we come to the end of our rope with our energy and resources all used up; that is when we turn to God. Isn't it true? When we are most vulnerable and most in need of comfort and love, we find God there waiting for us. He's not hard to find once our heart begins to look. As God says in Isaiah 45:19, "I have not spoken in secret, in a dark place on the earth. I did not say to the seed of Jacob, seek Me in vain."

God is findable, but there is a catch. Deuteronomy 4:29 asserts, "But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul." What is the catch? You have to make a good faith effort. This has to be a whole heart pilgrimage. God wants to be wanted.

The word, Baca, can also refer to a place of desolation - a waterless valley. Traveling through would be an ordeal. You would get hot, thirsty, and tired. But after camping out, the next morning you find that the rain had come and had filled up the waterholes with cool, refreshing water. Remember? Verse 6 says, "They make it a spring; the rain also covers it with pools." God turns our desolate places into oasis.

When we seek God traveling through our valleys of desolation, God meets us and brings blessings from barrenness. This is why 1st Peter 1:6-7 says what it does:

"In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious that gold that perishes, though it be tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ."

Are you on a pilgrimage to find God? It is on this pilgrimage that you will find blessing.

A Heart Set on Pilgrimage

Psalm 84:5 says, "Blessed is the man . . . whose heart is set on pilgrimage." What on earth does that mean? Obviously, this refers to life under the Old Testament economy. So what was a pilgrimage for an Old Testament saint? In the old Testament, the pilgrimage had reference to those who were making the regular pilgrimages back to the temple as required by the Mosaic Law for feast days. All the people would flock back to Jerusalem for the Passover, for the Feast of Tabernacles, and others. And they were blessed. They were blessed because going back to the temple was where they met God. To go back on a pilgrimage was truly a blessing.

What about for us? We don't live under the Old Testament. How can this apply to us? Hopefully, you find going to church a blessing because you also meet God there. Church should never be a drag. It should never be a bore. Instead, going to church ought to be the highlight of your week. That's where you can fellowship with other believers. That's where you can join them in lifting your voice in praise of God. That's where you can hear how God has been at work in the lives of other believers. That's where you can sit under the teaching of the Word of God. That's where you can encourage and be encouraged by other believers. But mostly, church is a place to meet with and communicate with God. You can do that whether or not the preaching is dynamic or the music is to your taste. You can do that whether the church building is comfortable and ornate, or an old gym.

There was a time when the church was the center of of the social life in this country. In some places it's not even the center of religious life any more. What a shame, and what a loss for people. Because going to church should make you happy. Going to church should be a means by which God brings blessing into your life.

But ultimately, our pilgrimage is never to a building, but to God. there should be a constant restlessness within us, a constant longing to draw closer to God. Joining other believers in worship is a part of that. Do you have that longing in your heart? Until you do, you will never be truly blessed.

God Can Use Anyone - Psalm 84

The good news in Psalm 84:5 is this: "Blessed is the man whose strength is in You." Since God doesn't expect us to rely on our own strength, which is pretty puny, but to rely on His strength, which is without end; that gives us hope. It means I can be used by God to be actively involved in His service. I can be of use to Him even if I am a person who doesn't have much strength at all; even if I am weak and insignificant. That doesn't matter.

As a matter of fact, being weak is almost an asset. If I am weak and God works through me, He gets all the credit and all the glory for anything that happens. In 1st Corinthians 1:26-29, we see the kind of person who God calls to His service:

"For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called. But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things that are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence."

Do you see this? God doesn't usually call the powerful, strong, rich, and talented people. If they accomplish things for God, everyone will assume they did it themselves through their strength, ability, and talent. But if He calls the weak, the common, and the ordinary people, and they accomplish great things for Him, then everyone will know that God did it through them.

So what kind of person are you? Are you common? Are you ordinary? Are you weak? Than praise God, because you are just the kind of person God is looking for. You are exactly the kind He wants to call to His service.

To me, that is such a comfort. God can use someone like me. I don't know how He does it, but He does. And God can use someone like you. God can use anyone who is willing, and he will give them His strength - the only strength available for effective spiritual ministry.

Remember what Jesus said in John 15:5? Jesus said, "Without Me you can do nothing." What is He saying? Doe Jesus mean nothing at all? That we can't even tie our own shoes? Obviously if Jesus hadn't given us physical life, not even tying our shoe would be possible. but that's not the meaning. Jesus means we can do nothing of any spiritual consequence without Him working through us. He means we can do nothing that God will bless. And he won't bless anything that he can't take 100% credit for,

So, blessed is the man whose strength is in God. Has God called you to serve Him? Are you relying on His strength? Or your own?

Relying on God's Strength

Psalm 84:5 gives us two reasons a man is blessed. It says, "Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, whose heart is set on pilgrimage." Since the first blessing is to the man whose strength is in the Lord, are you blessed? Is your strength in the Lord?

I know a lot of strong men - men of special talent and intelligence. I know preachers with real charismatic personalities and dynamic deliveries. I could almost envy them. They could be successful at almost anything they try to do, all in their own strength; but they aren't blessed.

The man who is blessed is the man who leans on God's strength, not his own. What a relief that is. AMEN? If we rely on God's strength, then He is responsible for the outcome, not us. It takes away the worry and the pressure. What we are responsible for is to be faithful, and we can all do that.

And since our strength is so puny and so quick to run out, and His strength is all-powerful and without end; nothing that God asks us to do is impossible, because it's not up to us. What God calls us to do we can do through His strength. That's the meaning of Philippians 4:13, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Isn't that a blessing?

Now certainly, this isn't talking about leaping tall building with a single bound, or about being faster than a speeding bullet, or being stronger than a locomotive. It doesn't mean we become Superman. What it means is that anything God asks us to do, we can do through His strength. If he asks us to serve Him, we can. If He asks us to witness, we can. He supplies what we don't have. Plus this means we can be useful to God just the way we are. Truly relying on god is the way to blessing.

The Only Thing That Truly Makes Us Happy

Psalm 84 is special to me because it tells me the secret of happiness. In verse 4, it declares, "Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; they will still be praising you." Why is a person blessed? They are blessed when they dwell with God. Then their praise will never end.

I'm sure you've heard the word, blessed, before. Psalm 1:1 began "Blessed is the man..." Jesus listed a whole series of blesseds in the Beatitudes beginning in Matthew 5:3, "blessed are the poor in spirit, etc." The word, blessed, is often translated as happy, or contented, or satisfied. How about this definition? To be blessed is to be blissfully contented with life. Or this one: joy unspeakable and full of glory.

What makes a person that way? The answer from Psalm 84:4 is to dwell in the presence of the Lord. It comes from having that sweet, precious communion with the One who loves us more than anyone, and who proved that love by dying on the cross for us. So if you want to be miserable, focus on yourself. If you want to be blessed, focus on God. Spend your time in His presence.

What makes a person miserable? It is to live apart from God. We would do that because of sin, choosing the pleasures of sin over a relationship with Christ who died for that sin. We see people like that all the time, who stay away from Christ because they know they wouldn't be comfortable in His presence while they enjoyed their sin. But to live in Christ's presence or apart from it is as dramatic a difference as night and day.

So how is your relationship with God? Do you have close fellowship with Him? Is it sweet? Then that is expressed how? As it says in Psalm 84:4, "They will still be praising You." That blessedness just bubbles out of us in praise - praise to God. We can't contain it.

Then this section of the Psalm ends with the word, selah, In other words, "What do you think of that?" Let's examine this word, selah, for a moment. The Psalms were written to music, right? They were intended to be sung. So selah is a musical notation. The word isn't intended to be read. You don't read a book and say comma, period, semicolon. So you don't read the word, selah, either for the same reason. The word is like a rest in a musical score. It indicates a pause or a breathing space. It gives us time to sit up and take notice and think about what has been said.

But the word means still more. Selah, in the verb form, means to exalt or to lift up. But lift up what? How about God? How about we pause and exalt the Lord? How about we lift up and bless His name? After pausing and thinking about what has just been said in the Psalm, we lift up and exalt God through our praise. So why don't you do that? Why don't you pause right now and exalt God's name?

Longing for God - Psalm 84

Have you fallen in love with God? Do you long for Him like some "mooney-eyed" junior high boy longs for that cute cheerleader? Do you want to be in His presence all the time? The good news is, you can! In Psalm 37, we read, "Delight yourselves also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart." What does He give you? The desires of your heart. But what is it you desired? The Lord! He is your delight. Therefore, God give you Himself. He gives you His presence - His fellowship.

So delight yourself in Him. Let Jesus be the longing of your heart. Long not just for what he can do for you, but for Him. Long for His sweet fellowship. That is exactly what we see in Psalm 84 with this gatekeeper at the tabernacle. He longed to spend more time with God.

Then the gatekeeper looked up and saw the sparrows flying around inside the tabernacle. Maybe they were carrying around bits of grass or string to make a nest in there. But it causes the gatekeeper to respond in Psalm 84:3: "Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young - even Your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God."
Have you ever tried to keep sparrows out of a barn? They love to get into buildings to fly around and to nest. When we go into Sam's Club or Wal-Mart, there are sparrows flying around inside all the time. Our kids think it is kind of neat (better than the bats), but they both can leave the same klind of mess. Those sparrows and swallows got inside the tabernacle too and built their nests. Yes, they built their nests right there inside the tabernacle, even on the altars. And this gatekeeper is jealous. He envies the sparrows. Why? He wants to be, like them, all the time with God. He doesn't want his shift to end and have to go home for the night.

I can relate to that with my fiancee (Now my wife of 35 years). I remember when we were courting. we wanted to see each other every day, all day long. We wanted to be together as much as was possible. I hated to go home at night and leave her behind at her parents house. That was one of the biggest motivations for my wanting to get married. I didn't want to have to leave her at night.

That's the longing the Psalmist had for God. He got to go to the tabernacle each day to work as a gatekeeper. But every night, he would have to go home to get his supper and to sleep in his own bed. And that upset him. He wanted to stay in God's presence all the time. So, he was jealous of the sparrows. "Why do I have to go home, and these sparrows get to live here? Boy, those sparrows are lucky!"

But guess what? We are lucky too (Bad choice of words, I know). You don't get to move in with God - not yet! not until heaven. But God has moved in with you (If you are born-again). His Spirit has indwelt your life. You never have to be apart from His presence again. You never have to break off your fellowship with Him. NEVER! If your fellowship is broken, it is because you want it that way. It is because your heart doesn't long for that sweet relationship with God.

My friend, is God your Lord and your King? Is He really? Do you love Him as your Heavenly Father? Then you can bask in His presence every moment of every day. Praise God!