THE JOURNEY OF A PILGRIM

Psalm 39:12 (KJV)

“Hear my prayer, O Lord, and give ear unto my cry; hold not thy peace at my tears: for I am a stranger with thee, and a sojourner, as all my fathers were.”

1 Peter 2:11 (KJV)

“Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul”

A pilgrim is a person out of his own country in a foreign land.  He does not intend to put down roots there but is heading elsewhere toward a definite goal.  

Thus, his life is always in transition. He should not view himself as permanently anchored to the society in which he lives.

As a foreigner will experience both good and bad times (seasons) in a foreign land, so do pilgrims also go through trials in the world. 

The LORD JESUS said in John 16:33 (KJV), “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace.  In the world, ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

No matter what trials we go through on this earth, we should always bear in mind that this world is not our home; whatever has a beginning also has an end. 

Our trials will soon be over.  Our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

Since we are just transiting, we have to adopt this mindset of not feeling too comfortable here, avoiding any form of complacency when all goes well with us.

Even though we are merely "pilgrims passing through this world", we possess a hope of an eternal home!  Because of God's great mercy and salvation, those who are saved have eternal life.  And above all, we are promised a home in a place beyond description.

We have been assured in 1 Peter 1:4 of an inheritance reserved for us in Heaven which is incorruptible, undefiled and fades not away.  We have only been given a glimpse of this place and our minds cannot comprehend what we have been told about Heaven!

1 Corinthians 2:9 says, “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which GOD hath prepared for them that love him.”

The enjoyment of GOD is the only happiness with which our souls can be satisfied.  To go to Heaven fully to enjoy GOD is infinitely better than the most pleasant accommodations here.

Let us pursue GOD and the enjoyment of all that HE is instead of living for this world’s pleasures.

GOD richly bless us all.

Quote:  "If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world". -  C.S. Lewis