Hearts Set on Pilgrimage

Psalm 84

1  How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty!
2  My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
3  Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young—a place near your altar, Lord Almighty, my King and my God.
4  Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you.
5  Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
6  As they pass through the Valley of Baka, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
7  They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.
8  Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty; listen to me, God of Jacob.
9  Look on our shield, O God; look with favor on your anointed one.
10  Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
11  For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.
12  Lord Almighty, blessed is the one who trusts in you.

Psalm 84:5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.

Travel Varsity. The concept of us is new, unprecedented, if you will. We are a group of university students who have committed this year to ministry, to following Jesus wherever He leads. We believe that He can use the gifts He’s given us, the privilege of our flexibility in our studies, and our willingness to go, for His incredible purpose. So we travel, we study, and we serve. Our schedules are quite varied, but generally we will be able to spend about half of our day studying, and the other half in any capacity that we’re needed, helping with ministry and experiencing the incredible things that Jesus is doing in the world. We are all studying different subjects, from Senior Phase Education to Artificial Intelligence. We’re from different backgrounds, different histories. Different countries, interests, families. Christ has brought us together, for His perfect purpose. We’ve committed to this year as pioneers, not knowing the road map, but set on following Him, where ever He leads.

Psalm 84:1 “How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty!”

We spent the past two months in Jeffrey’s Bay, training and preparing to go out to the Nations. Training alongside our Global One Year brothers and sisters, we experienced the love of God as He revealed His vision for our teams in the Nations. A vision we will continue to live out the rest of our lives. We learned that ministry is not something confined to a specific time frame, or geographical location. We serve with our lives, with our careers, with our passions, which we give to Him. This time has been such a blessing. Our Father spoke individually to each of us, and taught us in such a way, that we go out now in security, knowing that He has not finished His work, but has only just begun working out His plan for us…

Psalm 84:4 “Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you.”

Testimonies:

Since coming to Jeffrey’s Bay, Jesus has done so much, even for me personally. I came with an attitude of resignation, hoping I was doing His will, and thinking that this would be “my year for Him”. Looking back now, I am utterly astounded by that thinking! He has called me higher than I ever expected, taken me deeper than I ever thought I could go. He’s healed hurts I didn’t even know I had, and has begun to teach me about the true heart He has for us: not a heart of the master to a slave, nor even of a general, ordering His army out, but that of a Father to His beloved, most precious children. A Father who’s ultimate desire is for us to just come and be. Not act, or perform, but BE in His presence. Love Him and be loved by Him. Anything we do after that is simply an outpouring of the love He has already given us!

– Grace Walton~Nightingale

Psalm 84:9 “Look on our shield, O God; look with favor on your anointed one.”

We were blessed after our training to have a time set apart for our studies. After the One Year Teams left for the Nations, we had a month of intensive studying in Jeffery’s Bay as a team. In that time, we were able to learn the ropes of studying online before we began traveling. We came out of this time blessed with the flexibility that we will need travelling. There is still so much we have to learn, so much to experience, but we go out from this place of paradise with security and the knowledge that surrendered, there is nothing our Father cannot do through us.

So, as this month drew to a close, we began to gear up, prepare to leave. With 4 days until our departure date from Jeffrey’s Bay, everything was in order.

Psalm 84:11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless.

We were set to leave Jeffrey’s Bay on Sunday, the 17th of March, on a bus headed to Johannesburg, S.A. We were to depart that weekend, when we were called by two people, in a span of three hours. One, our contact in Johannesburg, calling to tell us that our accommodation and ministry plans there had not panned out, and the second, the bus company, saying that our bus had been cancelled. It’s hard to believe in coincidences when we know we have a Creator intimately involved in every element of our lives, so we had a meeting, and agreed to pray about our leader’s proposal that we instead travel to Bloemfontein, and trust the Lord for transport from Bloem to Johannesburg. We all prayed, and reconvened. Each of us felt peace, and a joy or excitement we couldn’t quite explain.

Psalm 84:12 “Lord Almighty,  blessed is the one who trusts in you.”

On Sunday, March 17th, we left Jeffrey’s Bay. We were prayed over, and someone shared a word with us, that this would be our time to fast, to rest.
Driving through the night, we reached Bloemfontein and were welcomed by the the most wonderful host we could have asked for. Again, they shared that they had felt this was a time of rest for us. So we spent the week in an attitude of rest, receiving what the Lord had for us. Connecting with churches and ministries, studying, experiencing family dinners and laughs around the table, walks in the veld, we were blessed far beyond measure. God has shared His bounty, His love for us, His Grace, and taught us about His provision.

It is so easy to fall into the trap of believing that we are going out now to serve Him, fighting the battle on His behalf, when in fact, He has won the war already. He has taken the territory, conquered everything that stands between us and Him. All we have to do is share this news with the world. Not out of a place of fear, that those nations will not hear His voice if we do not come to them, or that He will not complete His work, but out of a place of surety, a knowledge that no matter what, He is with us. He goes before us, He has won the battle ahead of us. He will provide, He will bless. We go to see our Father’s provision and His work in the world, to experience it. Ever out of a place of resting in Him. We love because He first loved us, and it has never been more apparent than this week, when He taught us so tangibly. “He is good, and His faithful love endures forever.”

Psalm 84:5 – 6
“Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
As they pass through the Valley of Baka, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools.“

During the time we spent in Jeffrey’s, we were asking the Lord for a word, a picture for our team, of what He had ahead for us, what He wants for us as a team. Over the period of that week, we were each blessed to receive different fragments of His Will for us. One member of our team received a poem, the other felt Psalm 84 on her heart. Others received pictures and images. All these ideas didn’t quite connect however. They seemed fragmented, confusing, until that Sunday, at Celebration, where the subject was living fully in the river which flows out from His throne. And all of a sudden, there it was, clear as daylight. Everything came together, in this beautiful picture:

The Lord said to us us that we are trees planted by the riverbank, fully in Him. Drinking from the river of His blessing. Planted firmly in Him. Living in the river. Not only dipping our toes, but fully submerging ourselves, everything we have and everything we are, in His river. We are invited into His dwelling place, His new kingdom, as His children, hidden in Him. “Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.”

Psalm 84:12 “Lord Almighty, blessed is the one who trusts in you.”

We are the pioneers of Travel Varsity. Our hearts set on a pilgrimage to His dwelling place. This is His word for us. This is His Will.

So, on Monday, April 1, at 9:50 am, we will go. To seek His dwelling place. To abide there. To see His Will and His work in the world. We go to conquer, to live, to love, to be. Because in the end, that is what He will seek. Children set after His heart. And that is our desire, to seek Him with everything we have. Our hearts set on a pilgrimage to His dwelling place.