They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion. Ps 84:7 (NIV)
To the average human (me included) there seems to be a massive disconnect between the expectation that our lives will go from strength to strength and the reality that we constantly face heartaches and disappointments.
This beautiful Psalm sheds some light on the subject. It indicates that living from strength to strength is possible and is the way God intends us to live, BUT we have to reframe our understanding of strength.
V4 says “Blessed are those who dwell in your house.” The English word for house is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word “hus” which means “to cover”. This is also the word we get “husband” from and so when you see this word it is a form of connection and covering. When you are connected to and covered by God, it’s a picture of divine relationship where the resulting experience is always joy.
The Psalm continues: ‘when you walk through the valley of weeping it will become a place of refreshing.’ I’ve been through some hard seasons where there were lots of tears. It felt dark and lonely – like a valley. It didn’t much feel like a place of strength… but connected and covered by God, those hard and dark times actually have transformed into refreshing springs. These daily devotions are an example of that! It’s from those places that we have the ability to become wells of life for others. A testimony that life-giving waters can come from dry seasons.
We may not have a steady incline of strength when we view our lives day-to-day. But when you look back, year on year, decade on decade, there is no doubt that despite the dips we face, there are peaks in between those valleys and the overall trend is upward!
It may not always reflect in your bank account or your relationships, but the inner-man, connected and covered by God, can find strength and growth in every season… until we appear before Him, face to face.
The secret to the strength is not about what you have or don’t have, but that you are connected and covered by the Divine Source of everything.
