from strength to strength

Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.
As they pass through the Valley of Baca,
they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
They go from strength to strength,
till each appears before God in Zion.
Psalm 84:5-7

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They go from strength to strength...... this caught my eye in writing my previous entry. It sounds neat, but I really didn't know what it meant, and so it has just been roaming my mind since then. Probably the main interpretation of this phrase is that it refers to God's renewing our strength. But tonight while out walking another thought that came to mind was that it could also mean shifting from relying on my own strength, to relying on God's strength.

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Lord, help me to find my strength only in you. Help me to set my heart not on the here and now, but on pilgrimage. As I pass through this valley, please make it a place of springs..... springs of living water, found only in you. And as my strength fades, please be my strength, until I appear before you in Zion. In Jesus name, amen.

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"He gives strength to the weary

and increases the power of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary,

and young men stumble and fall;

but those who hope in the Lord

will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint."

Isaiah 40:29-31