THE HEARTCRY OF THE PSALMIST.

I have really been greatly blessed as I have been reading ad meditating on the Psalms.  We come to Psalm 84, (verses 1&2) and the Psalmist, declares how much he loves God’s tabernacle (the temple) and he has this impelling desire to be there worshipping God. He knows God’s manifest presence is behind the veil the Shekinah Glory resting between the wings of the Cherubim (Psalm 80:1).May we under the new Covenant, with the veil torn down from top to bottom be like the Psalmist and ache to live in God’s holy manifest presence.
We come to verse 5 and the Psalmist declares that man  who loves the presence of God will know God’s strength indwelling him,  why, because that man’s heart is set on pilgrimage.I am sure we don’t realise when we come to faith and accept Jesus as our personal Saviour and Lord, that we commence a pilgrimage that goes on throughout our life until or death or Christ’s return for His Church. You may have read John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, sadly, there are bypath meadows and the slough of despond as we lose focus and get caught up with other things.
Going on a pilgrimage was a big thing in the Middle Ages as people wanted to visit special shrines of departed saints, or see some other so called special thing like a piece od wood from the cross of Christ. Going on pilgrimages have become very popular again in this century. Many of you may have heard of the Camino de Santiago or the Way of St. James. I have a friend (a spiritual son) who came to Christ under our ministry around 1974, he know Pastors a flourishing church in Queensland. He has recently returned from Spain having done the Camino de Santiago. I am neither encouraging or discouraging people to go on a physical pilgrimage, but I am sure encouraging believers to see their spiritual with God as a pilgrimage.
To do the Camino de Santiago you need to prepare and have a high degree of physical fitness, to make your personal spiritual pilgrimage you need to keep pressing into God, seeking first God’s rule in your life, and don’t let things effect your focus.
We initially do not realise we are on a pilgrimage, but when we do, like the Psalmist we must set our heart to do it, and make it our no.1 priority.The Psalmist says our pilgrimage will take us into the Valley of Baca or weeping. The Message Bible says there are lonesome valleys, but as we embrace the weeping we will discover cool springs and pools brimming with rain. Rain and water are pictures of the Holy Spirit, (remember my blog on the River), and although our pilgrimage is not a bed of roses, there comes the “Times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord. (Acts 3:19) and this causes us to go from strength to strength (verse 7)
We declare that the pilgrimage is just so worthwhile, that whether we are in ministry or simply a pilgrim, we would rather be a doorkeeper in God’s house, than to live a 2nd rate life (verse 10)
On the pilgrimage we find God to be our sun, He gives us warmth and revelation, and he is a shield against the enemy. He will give His grace to us, as Paul declared His grace is sufficient in every situation. No good thing will God withhold from us if we walk uprightly. (Verse 11)  Let us not be satisfied with an average or even mediocre Christian life. but make the decision today.

I SET MY HEART ON PILGIMAGE.

We will never be the same again, and you will come to say, why didn’t I decide to do this years ago. In God’s presence os fullness of Joy and at His right hand are pleasures for evermore.