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

We don’t know how long humans have been making pilgrimage but we do know that in the OT God establishes it for his people as part of their rhythms of worship.  As early as the 1st century we know that believers in Jesus began making pilgrimages to Jerusalum. And in our more “modern” times - we have a seminal work of western literature that compares our Christian life to a pilgrimage.  The allegory, John Bunyun’s The Pilgrim's Progress from This World to That Which is to Come, still continues to encourage and motivate believers over 400 years since it was first published.  

The central character of the book is a pilgrim named Christian.  Early in his journey he encounters the Hill of Difficulty. As he sets to climb it, he has a little poem he says to himself, to encourage himself and set his heart on the task ahead.  The text clearly states that he SAID these words, but I like to imagine that he SANG them.   

"The hill, though high, I covet to ascend;

The difficulty will not me offend,

For I perceive the way to life lies here.

Come, pluck up, heart, let's neither faint nor fear.

Better, though difficult, the right way to go,

Than wrong, though easy, where the end is woe." 

Many of us are facing our own Hill of Difficulty.  Perhaps you are struggling with the daily tension of parenting and ministry.  Perhaps there are ailing parents or new babies in your home country that you long to embrace.  Perhaps you are besieged with sadness and don’t know why. Or there are difficult decisions that need to be made and the way is not clear. 

Thankfully, we do not journey alone.  Even as we ascend our own Hills, we can still reach out to one another.  Sometimes we need to “mourn with those who mourn”. Other times we can “encourage each other with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.”

And so dear friends, here is a song for the journey.  It spoke to my sadness and lifted my spirits. I hope it does the same for you and I offer it as a gift to my fellow pilgrims here at HOPE.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8-N3kkw7O4   Pilgrim’s Song by The Gloaming 

Melissa Mora

February Nominated Employees