For the past days I’ve been constantly seeing this verse:

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 NIV

A heart set on pilgrimage.

Strength directed to continue on this pilgrimage, the life long walk with Him.

Pilgrimage means 1 : a journey of a pilgrim(foreigner) ; especially : one to a shrine or a sacred place 2: the course of life on earth (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pilgrimage).

A heart set on a journey, a particular destination and to an extent  “the course of life on earth”.  What a statement! A person totally committed to reach a particular place, fulfill a particular purpose, and the writer of the psalm said that person is “blessed”.

The psalmist however was honest and revealed also that those people who have committed their way to this pilgrimage would have to pass the valley of Baca (misery, tears, in some translation it said valley of weeping). But for those who have set their hearts in the right way it said: “they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. ” Wow! These person can find joy even in their weeping, find comfort in their trials. The New Living Translation stated

When they walk through the Valley of Weeping,
it will become a place of refreshing springs.
The autumn rains will clothe it with blessings.

Not only do these people find a good thing on a bad situation, they also bring hope, joy and strength with them, therefore affecting others. These people are not aiming to go on this journey alone.  They have it in their hearts and minds to also influence others positively, to tell others how they do it to point them in their source of joy. They are more than optimist people, they are extraordinary people.  These people have found their true source of joy, strength and comfort. These people have known God.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” – 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (NIV)

God is the true source of comfort, joy, hope and love. And this God who is our ever-provider made it even more accessible to us, through his son Jesus, so that all the praise and glory should be brought back to God who initially made a way.

Finally for those who endured the valley of Baca, the psalmist stated that these people go from strength to strength, increasing in victory, closer and closer to their destination, which is before God in Zion, or in some people stated, before God in heaven.

I wanna aim that strength to strength promise, the testing and refinement of faith, that guaranteed victory at the end. Or as Paul stated when he was still alive and undergoing trials:

“Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 3:13, 14 (NIV)

Paul was a pilgrim determined on his journey, committed in his walk with God.

Come let us set our hearts on this pilgrimage!