May 13th, 2025
Psalm 84:5 (ESV) “Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion”
I’ve read the verse above before but never stopped to think much about it. This week though, I saw it differently and I want to share some thoughts with you! Bible scholars tend to agree the phrase “highways to Zion” means paths of holiness, figuratively leading to the city of God – His dwelling place. In the NIV version, this verse says,
“Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.”
This particular version of the scripture has been on my heart this week. Is your heart set on pilgrimage?
I’ve been asking myself that question, and I want to ask you, too.
A pilgrimage is a journey on which the main focus is the destination. Someone on a pilgrimage isn’t stopping to build a house, plant a garden or put down roots. In our walk with the Lord, there should be a sense that our lives on this earth are a pilgrimage.
Now, this is not to say God won’t give us good things to enjoy on the earth. Psalm 84:11 (the same chapter as the verse above) says,
“No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.”
However, as a follower of Jesus, this world is not our home.
Hebrews 11:13 says of the men and women of faith – Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all those whose stories we read in the Old Testament:
“These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and
greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth.”
They were foreigners and strangers looking toward the promises of God. Hebrews 11:16 goes on to say,
“But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared for them a city.”
Their hearts were set on pilgrimage. They were journeying by faith toward a promise they’d
received – a promise they did not see fulfilled while on the earth. We are part of the fulfillment of those promises! Hebrews 11:39-40 says,
“And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.”
We continue their journey, the walk of faith toward the promises of God. We are on a pilgrimage just like every man and woman of faith that has walked before us. One of the most dangerous things we can do as a believer is to forget we’re on a journey and settle in a place God never intended us to call home. 1 Peter 2:11 (NKJV) says,
“Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul.”
Hebrews 13:14 (ESV) says,
“For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.”
In John 15:19 (ESV) Jesus said,
“If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”
James 4:4 (ESV) says,
“You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”
We are pilgrims, but the significance of this truth is not that we pass through life indifferently, but that we live with an understanding that we are not of this world. As believers, we should have a longing for home that can only be satisfied with His presence because we are from another kingdom.
Philippians 3:20 says,
“But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”
We are citizens of another kingdom with a mandate from the King. Just as Jesus went about “doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil” (Acts 10:38), we have a command to carry the kingdom of heaven to the world around us.
In Acts 3, we read the story of a man crippled since birth who sat outside the temple begging for alms. When Peter and John passed by, he asked them for money and Peter responded:
“I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” (Acts 3:6)
Peter had something better than money. As believers, we carry the power of the kingdom of heaven, the Holy Spirit Himself, on the inside of us. We are not to be at home in the world, but to bring the power of our home to the people around us. Peter and John were brought before the council because of the healing of the man at the temple gate. The council’s response after listening to Peter’s defense is powerful. Acts 4:13 says,
“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.”
They recognized that they had been with Jesus.
This truth has been resonating in my heart. Peter and John were of those disciples that turned the world “upside down” as the gospel spread following Jesus’ ascension. They were common, uneducated men, but they impacted the world around them because of two very powerful things: who they’d been with and what they had.
They had been with Jesus, and they carried the genuine power of the kingdom of heaven. Even Peter’s shadow healed the sick, and we know from the scripture that it was not because of him. It was because he walked in the power of the Holy Spirit.
He said to the man at the gate, “What I have, I give to you in the name of Jesus…”
What do you have?
You may not feel like you have much, but as a believer, a pilgrim on this earth, you have the
Holy Spirit on the inside of you and God’s plan is that you would bring the kingdom of heaven everywhere you go.
In Jesus, you have peace, joy, love, and truth that the world is starving for, whether they realize it or not. This week, I encourage you to ask God to show you the power of what you have. Whether we feel like it or not, we carry the power of the One who raised Jesus from the dead and turned the world upside down. The Holy Spirit is the same One who hovered over the water at creation, and He lives in us. He is the deposit of heaven in our hearts that constantly reminds us we are not of this world. We have a longing for home that can be satisfied by Him alone, but we have the opportunity to see the kingdom of heaven come even now. Is your heart set on pilgrimage? You are a citizen of heaven, and this week, we encourage you to find yourself at home in His presence. It’s what you were made for!
I’ve read the verse above before but never stopped to think much about it. This week though, I saw it differently and I want to share some thoughts with you! Bible scholars tend to agree the phrase “highways to Zion” means paths of holiness, figuratively leading to the city of God – His dwelling place. In the NIV version, this verse says,
“Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.”
This particular version of the scripture has been on my heart this week. Is your heart set on pilgrimage?
I’ve been asking myself that question, and I want to ask you, too.
A pilgrimage is a journey on which the main focus is the destination. Someone on a pilgrimage isn’t stopping to build a house, plant a garden or put down roots. In our walk with the Lord, there should be a sense that our lives on this earth are a pilgrimage.
Now, this is not to say God won’t give us good things to enjoy on the earth. Psalm 84:11 (the same chapter as the verse above) says,
“No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.”
However, as a follower of Jesus, this world is not our home.
Hebrews 11:13 says of the men and women of faith – Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all those whose stories we read in the Old Testament:
“These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and
greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth.”
They were foreigners and strangers looking toward the promises of God. Hebrews 11:16 goes on to say,
“But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared for them a city.”
Their hearts were set on pilgrimage. They were journeying by faith toward a promise they’d
received – a promise they did not see fulfilled while on the earth. We are part of the fulfillment of those promises! Hebrews 11:39-40 says,
“And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.”
We continue their journey, the walk of faith toward the promises of God. We are on a pilgrimage just like every man and woman of faith that has walked before us. One of the most dangerous things we can do as a believer is to forget we’re on a journey and settle in a place God never intended us to call home. 1 Peter 2:11 (NKJV) says,
“Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul.”
Hebrews 13:14 (ESV) says,
“For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.”
In John 15:19 (ESV) Jesus said,
“If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”
James 4:4 (ESV) says,
“You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”
We are pilgrims, but the significance of this truth is not that we pass through life indifferently, but that we live with an understanding that we are not of this world. As believers, we should have a longing for home that can only be satisfied with His presence because we are from another kingdom.
Philippians 3:20 says,
“But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”
We are citizens of another kingdom with a mandate from the King. Just as Jesus went about “doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil” (Acts 10:38), we have a command to carry the kingdom of heaven to the world around us.
In Acts 3, we read the story of a man crippled since birth who sat outside the temple begging for alms. When Peter and John passed by, he asked them for money and Peter responded:
“I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!” (Acts 3:6)
Peter had something better than money. As believers, we carry the power of the kingdom of heaven, the Holy Spirit Himself, on the inside of us. We are not to be at home in the world, but to bring the power of our home to the people around us. Peter and John were brought before the council because of the healing of the man at the temple gate. The council’s response after listening to Peter’s defense is powerful. Acts 4:13 says,
“Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they were astonished. And they recognized that they had been with Jesus.”
They recognized that they had been with Jesus.
This truth has been resonating in my heart. Peter and John were of those disciples that turned the world “upside down” as the gospel spread following Jesus’ ascension. They were common, uneducated men, but they impacted the world around them because of two very powerful things: who they’d been with and what they had.
They had been with Jesus, and they carried the genuine power of the kingdom of heaven. Even Peter’s shadow healed the sick, and we know from the scripture that it was not because of him. It was because he walked in the power of the Holy Spirit.
He said to the man at the gate, “What I have, I give to you in the name of Jesus…”
What do you have?
You may not feel like you have much, but as a believer, a pilgrim on this earth, you have the
Holy Spirit on the inside of you and God’s plan is that you would bring the kingdom of heaven everywhere you go.
In Jesus, you have peace, joy, love, and truth that the world is starving for, whether they realize it or not. This week, I encourage you to ask God to show you the power of what you have. Whether we feel like it or not, we carry the power of the One who raised Jesus from the dead and turned the world upside down. The Holy Spirit is the same One who hovered over the water at creation, and He lives in us. He is the deposit of heaven in our hearts that constantly reminds us we are not of this world. We have a longing for home that can be satisfied by Him alone, but we have the opportunity to see the kingdom of heaven come even now. Is your heart set on pilgrimage? You are a citizen of heaven, and this week, we encourage you to find yourself at home in His presence. It’s what you were made for!
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