Highways take us places. Highways are well traveled. I live on a highway. Sometimes I sit by my window and imagine the places people are going as they drive along the highway.
In today’s verse, the Psalmist notes that those who find their strength in the Lord, those people who depend on the Lord’s strength, are blessed. Now being enriched or blessed— this isn’t something that is sought out as the main desire. Many people are apt to focus on the blessing and not the highway. You see, the blessing is the presence of God— being in union with Him— life with Jesus. The verse speaks of the highways of holiness, otherwise translated as the pilgrimage to Jerusalem to the Temple. This is where people went to be close with God. The focus and desire is always on Jesus. The Psalmist speaks of having a heart for Him, a desire for meeting with God.
When we often think of blessings, we focus on what we have— things we own or people in our lives. They enrich our lives, yes, but this isn’t to be the focus of life. We say we are blessed because we have a strong marriage, or we are blessed because we have healthy children, or we are blessed because we have a job with good benefits. We say we are blessed because we have a nice home or blessed because our bank account is not in the negative or blessed that we have a vehicle that runs. Yes, these are all blessings.
Nonetheless, if we do not travel on the highways of holiness, we miss the true enrichment, the biggest of blessings. Yes, you are likely not to go on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Remember though, without Jesus, without Him in your life, without a heart for Him above all, there is always something missing— there’s always a dissatisfaction, a hole that needs filled. As well, any of the blessings I have listed can be lost. In the blink of an eye— LOST! Except for Jesus. He will never leave you. He will never forsake you. When you find yourself alone journeying through life, you can trust that He is with you and He is for you. That’s the enrichment. That is the blessing. HIM!
Today, consider your blessings. Yes, thank God for the blessings. The family, the kids, the job, the car, the health, etc. Thank Him. He alone deserves all honor, all glory, all praise! Yet as you chew upon the verse for today, consider if you are on the highway. Consider if you are seeking Him above all. Consider what it truly means to be blessed. This isn’t prosperity gospel here my friends. The blessing is always being with Him. The blessing is always a relationship with God. Don’t let anyone try to sell you short. Don’t let anyone talk you into focusing on the things, that you miss the true blessing – Jesus. He was and is and is to come. He is everything. May you be blessed.
“How enriched are they who find their strength in the Lord; within their hearts are the highways of holiness!” – Psalm 84:5 [TPT]
Tania Gutekunst 