When Tomorrow’s Joy Reaches Today

“Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage... They go from strength to strength.” (Psalm 84:5–7, NIV)

This pilgrim song was sung by worshipers traveling toward Jerusalem. They had not reached their destination, yet the song calls them people “whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.” Their willingness to live with God before finally arriving at Jerusalem creates a quiet contrast with our hesitation. A new season can feel promising, yet we may still live as temporary occupants, reluctant to settle because we might soon move on. That hesitation may look as simple as using paper plates while the real dishes remain boxed and the walls stay bare.

The travelers respond differently from someone using temporary paper plates. They know the road is temporary, yet they do not postpone life with God until they reach Jerusalem. They look toward the day “each appears before God in Zion,” another name for Jerusalem. That contrast catches us. We might hold back from fully living in today because it feels fleeting, while they let the journey itself become part of their life with God. Their hope does not begin when the city finally appears. It is already shaping how they walk together and what they expect from God along the way.

The road ahead is definitely not easy. “As they pass through the Valley of Baka, they make it a place of springs.” Baka is often called the Valley of Weeping, which makes the image feel even closer to real life. The travelers are not pretending the valley is pleasant. Yet neither are they waiting for it to disappear before expecting God to meet them there. Jerusalem is still far ahead, but something of its joy has already reached them. The gladness of arrival is beginning to strengthen the unfinished middle. That may be where the song becomes personal.

Genesis offers one brief glimpse of the same discovery in a harsher place. Joseph, a young man betrayed by his brothers and later imprisoned unjustly, has no road he chose for himself. Still, “the Lord was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love” (Genesis 39:21 NIV). That sentence stops us. The prison door remains closed, but God is not waiting outside it. Joseph has not reached a destination, but God has reached Joseph. We may recognize the possibility that Jesus is already present before the situation becomes understandable or the circumstances visibly change.

The travelers “go from strength to strength,” not from explanation to explanation or certainty to certainty. What they need comes while the road is still beneath their feet. That gives us another way to meet a season that may not last. We can open the cupboard, use the good dish, make the call, and give our attention to the life before us. None of this declares that everything is settled. It simply refuses to postpone today’s life with Jesus. Let the joy ahead lend strength to this mile and courage for the next.

Prayer

Jesus, help me recognize the life You are already breathing into being. Let the joy ahead strengthen me for today, and teach my heart to meet what comes with expectancy, courage, and gratitude. Amen.