Walking with Jesus on the Pilgrimage of Hope

Sep 25, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: Walking Through Rainstorms with Open Hands

The pilgrim’s path is not paved with convenience. It is marked by moments where the skies open, and the road turns to mud. Rain soaks through inadequate gear, and the warmth of a shower becomes a distant hope. Yet in the discomfort, there is a raw invitation to trust the rhythm of the journey rather than resent its interruptions. The ache of wet clothes and weary legs becomes a prayer of surrender, a reminder that control is an illusion. Pilgrimage teaches us to hold plans loosely and receive grace in the downpour. [54:06]

“Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them.”
(Psalm 126:5–6, NIV)

Reflection: Where is the “rain” in your life right now—the discomfort you resent? How might this hardship be shaping your capacity to trust God’s timing over your own?

Day 2: Mountains That Don’t Move When You Stumble

Jerusalem’s pilgrims lifted their eyes to the hills, not as obstacles but as reminders of God’s permanence. Mountains do not shift when travelers trip or lose their way. They stand, silent and sure, a metaphor for the One who surrounds His people “both now and forevermore.” Security is not the absence of danger but the presence of a love that outlasts every storm. When the path feels unstable, the pilgrim’s call is to fix their gaze on what cannot be shaken. [39:21]

“Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people both now and forevermore.”
(Psalm 125:1–2, NIV)

Reflection: What instability are you facing? How might your anxiety lessen if you saw God’s faithfulness as a mountain range encircling your life?

Day 3: Holding Brokenness and Hope in One Hand

Pilgrimage refuses to simplify life into tidy categories. It forces us to carry paradox: blisters and sunsets, grief and gratitude, failure and redemption. The man walking 1,700 kilometers with a trolley embodied this tension—a heart heavy with loss, yet feet still moving toward peace. To follow Jesus is to accept that joy often grows in soil watered by tears. The kingdom is both “now” and “not yet,” and our lives echo that unresolved melody. [57:14]

“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”
(2 Corinthians 4:8–9, NIV)

Reflection: What two opposing realities are you holding right now? How might God be inviting you to let them coexist without rushing to resolve the tension?

Day 4: The Weight of a Backpack and the Freedom of Surrender

Eight kilograms on a pilgrim’s back contains all they think they need—until the journey reveals what truly sustains. The weight of self-sufficiency grows heavier with each mile, while trust lightens the load. The 80-year-old man’s trolley symbolized both burden and release: he carried his grief openly, yet found strength in moving forward. Pilgrimage strips away false comforts, teaching us to depend on the God who walks beside us. [42:41]

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
(Matthew 11:28–29, NIV)

Reflection: What “unnecessary weight” have you been carrying—a worry, habit, or expectation? What would it look like to lay it down today?

Day 5: Blisters, Bread, and the Blessing of Shared Stories

Pilgrimage unravels in community. Strangers become companions when blisters are bandaged and bread is broken. The Camino’s 50 conversations—awkward, tender, frustrating—mirror the church’s call to “do life” together. Shared tears and laughter soften hearts, turning a path of individual striving into a chorus of collective hope. The Psalms of Ascent were never sung alone; their harmonies required many voices. [01:06:05]

“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”
(Galatians 6:2, NIV)

Reflection: Who in your life needs you to walk beside them this week—not to fix their pain, but to share the weight of it? How can you create space for their story?

Sermon Summary

The Psalms of Ascent carry the voice of ordinary pilgrims making their way to Jerusalem with brokenness, trouble, hope, and anticipation. These short, memorable songs gave God’s people words for the road, words they could recite at Passover, the Feast of Tabernacles, and the Festival of Weeks as they remembered God’s presence and provision.

Pilgrimage names more than getting from one location to another. Pilgrimage is walking with Jesus, with others, in the process of becoming like Jesus. The destination is not simply a physical place, because Christ is present in ordinary life now, and the final horizon is the garden city, the restoration of all things in a new heaven and new earth.

The Psalms give language for the reality that life does not stay tidy. Walter Brueggemann’s pattern of orientation, disorientation, and new orientation captures the rhythm of Israel’s story, the life of Jesus, and the experience of God’s people. Orientation knows security and trust. Disorientation feels like exile, pain, confusion, and a world that no longer makes sense. New orientation sees God afresh on the other side of suffering, not because pain was good, but because God was faithful in it.

A decisive move of faith keeps walking when the path is hard. A decisive move of faith also trusts that things can change because hope in God is not wishful thinking. Movement is efficient, linear, and faithless in itself. Pilgrimage is slower, relational, intentional, emotional, physical, and spiritual. Pilgrimage holds the paradox of something being awesome and awful at the same time.

Psalm 124 asks, “If the Lord had not been on our side,” and then names the destruction that would have followed. The psalm ends with the solid confession that help is in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. Psalm 125 sees mountains surrounding Jerusalem and declares that God surrounds his people now and forevermore. Psalm 126 remembers restoration like a dream, where tears become seed and sorrow gives way to songs of joy.

God’s ancient paths are good because Jesus himself is the trustworthy and reliable way. God has protected his people through history and has not stopped protecting them now. The Psalms of Ascent also refuse an isolated faith, because pilgrimage always includes other people, their grief, their frustration, their questions, and their hope. Christ calls his people to see the other and to keep trusting him amid all the chaos.

Key Takeaways

1. Pilgrimage is more than movement Movement gets a person from here to there, but pilgrimage forms a person on the way. Pilgrimage makes room for tiredness, rain, hunger, awkward conversations, and unexpected grace. The slow and inconvenient parts of life can become places where Christ meets people and where relationships become real. [50:16]
2. Faith keeps walking through disorientation Disorientation does not mean God has disappeared. The pattern of orientation, disorientation, and new orientation gives language for seasons when life feels broken apart. A decisive move of faith keeps going without pretending that pain is simple or that answers come quickly. [48:31]
3. God surrounds his people forever Psalm 125 uses the mountains around Jerusalem to picture God’s steady protection. God’s protection does not deny the presence of evil, uncertainty, or personal struggle. God’s surrounding presence gives security that is deeper than circumstances and stronger than fear. [61:09]
4. Jesus is the trustworthy ancient path The next promise, idea, or technology cannot save humanity from its deepest problem. Jesus is the reliable way because he alone brings people into life with God. God’s ancient path remains good precisely because Christ is not an outdated answer but the only true one. [62:37]
5. Pilgrimage always includes other people The Psalms of Ascent speak in the language of God’s people rather than private spirituality. Community brings difficult conversations, disappointment, tears, and fatigue, but it also brings life and hope. The pilgrim learns to see the other as significant rather than as an interruption.

## [65:14]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[32:56] - Walking the Camino in Spain
[34:26] - The Psalms of Ascent
[35:30] - Ordinary Pilgrims Going to Jerusalem
[37:56] - Reading Psalms 124, 125, and 126
[41:26] - A Working Definition of Pilgrimage
[45:07] - Orientation, Disorientation, New Orientation
[48:31] - Decisive Moves of Faith
[49:15] - Movement Versus Pilgrimage
[52:30] - What the Camino Cannot Capture
[56:54] - Pilgrimage and Paradox
[58:56] - Help, Security, and Joy in the Psalms
[62:15] - Three Things for the Journey
[65:14] - Pilgrimage Includes Community

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Psalm 125:1-2
“Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people both now and forevermore.” [38:55]

Psalm 124:1-2, 8
“If the LORD had not been on our side—let Israel say— if the LORD had not been on our side when people attacked us, they would have swallowed us alive when their anger flared against us; Our help is in the name of the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.” [38:00]

Psalm 126:1, 5-6
“When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dreamed. Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow, will return with songs of joy, carrying sheaves with them.” [39:44]

Observation questions

In Psalm 124, what dangers does the psalmist imagine would have overwhelmed God’s people if the Lord had not been on their side? [59:04]
What picture from the landscape around Jerusalem does Psalm 125 use to describe God’s care for his people, and how long does that care last? [01:01:09]
In Psalm 126, what two very different experiences are held together in the movement from sowing to reaping?
What repeated “we” language appears across these Psalms, and what does it show about whether the journey of faith is private or shared? [01:05:14]

Interpretation questions

Psalm 124 ends by locating help in the name of the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. Why might it matter that the psalm points to God as Creator when people feel threatened, trapped, or overwhelmed? [01:00:36]
Psalm 125 does not deny the presence of wickedness or trouble, yet it speaks confidently of God’s surrounding protection. How can God’s protection be understood without assuming that believers will avoid pain or difficulty?
Psalm 126 connects tears, seed, and future joy. What does this suggest about faithful action during a season when restoration has not yet arrived?
The pattern of orientation, disorientation, and new orientation gives language for seasons of trust, confusion, and renewed hope. How does this pattern help someone recognize God’s faithfulness without calling suffering good? [48:09]

Application questions

Where would you place yourself in this season: orientation, disorientation, or new orientation? What is one honest prayer you could bring to God from that place?
A decisive move of faith means continuing to walk with God when the road is hard, while trusting that God can bring change. What is one small next step of faithfulness in a difficult situation you are facing? [48:41]
It is easy to treat life as movement—getting tasks done, reaching goals, and moving efficiently from one thing to the next. Where has life recently felt more like movement than pilgrimage? What could help you become more present to Jesus in that part of life? [50:16]
God’s surrounding presence is deeper than changing circumstances. When fear or bad news feels especially loud, what practices help you remember that God is with you and holds you securely? [01:04:15]
Jesus is the trustworthy and reliable way, rather than the next promise, idea, or solution that claims to change everything. What false sources of security or salvation are most tempting for you to trust, and how can you turn again toward Jesus? [01:02:37]
Pilgrimage includes other people—their grief, frustration, questions, and hope. Who might you be tempted to see as an interruption right now, and what would it look like to truly see and care for that person this week? [01:06:25]

Sermon Clips

42s

#DecisiveFaith

“A decisive move of faith is recognizing that as I'm on my pilgrimage with the Lord and with others, there are gonna be moments where I know things are gonna be hard and I keep going. That's a decisive move of faith. It also requires faith when you know that things will change because of the hope that we have, and you know that we can trust the Lord, and actually requires faith to step even further knowing that things will get better. And then it starts all over again.”

39s

#AncientPaths

“The first one is that god's ancient paths are good. God's ancient path has has always been the right path. that the words I'm thinking about there are things like trustworthy. God is trustworthy. His way is reliable. And if that isn't enough, then we have God's path as a person, and his name is Jesus. Jesus is the trustworthy way. Jesus is the reliable way.”

44s

#JesusSaves

“But, like, I was thinking this changes everything is the attitude that we still have since the beginning of time. We still think that we can save ourselves, and we're looking for the next promise, the next idea, the next concept that will alleviate the pain that we're feeling as a humanity. The thing is, what that email doesn't represent, what the email doesn't know is that Jesus is the only way that we can be saved. It's that trustworthy ancient path that leads to life. And so, God's ancient paths are good.”

56s

#WalkingWithJesus

“So I have a definition for pilgrimage, and it's a working definition. It's not final. But I like the idea of pilgrimage being walking with Jesus with others in the process of becoming like him. Walking with Jesus with others in the process of becoming like Jesus. And so our pilgrimage isn't necessarily to a physical destination, but rather this idea and revelation of the garden city, this restoration of a new heaven and a new earth. And so we don't need to go to a physical location because our story is one where we are present with Christ now what we're doing today. What you're doing tomorrow, what you got coming up next week, that's our pilgrimage.”

46s

#SlowLiving

“Now over this side, though, is this idea of pilgrimage. Pilgrimage is what moving isn't. Pilgrimage is a completely different rhythm. And in fact, it's much slower than moving. It's not efficient. It's not scientific, but it's relational. And it's intentional. And it's emotional. And it's physical, and it's spiritual. What I'm describing here, if that is scientific over here and mechanical, this is human. This is what being human feels like.”

51s

#ChristianCommunity

“So number one, God's ancient paths are good. Number two, God has protected his people. This is a cosmic reality for us. He's protected his people, and he will continue to do so into the future. And number three, community. You know, the Psalms of a sense don't allow us to be to personalize them. I read one of these Psalms every day for fifteen days while I was in Spain, while I was walking, And I was desperate for, like, a something to encourage me. Like, I had a tough day today. Where's this the Psalm that's gonna speak into my life? Well, the Psalms don't allow that. The Psalms are always including people, and our pilgrimage is always about including people.”

62s

#HopeInGod

“God, number two, God has protected his people up to this point in history, and he's not gonna stop now. God has protected his people up to this point, and there's no reason why he will stop now. Think about all of the things that are happening around the world. Turn on the news for a few minutes, and you will get a sense of what hopelessness feels like. On the one hand, all the data, that's what moving feels like. Just this this information that we're just constantly, seeing and bombarded with in some ways. But actually, the posture of a pilgrim is actually living with a paradox and saying, I understand all of those things. I don't understand why they're happening sometimes. I have my own issues to deal with, but I choose to stand in the right path. I wanna be a pilgrim for Jesus.”

67s

#GodOurRefuge

“And the psalmist uses language of landscape if you like, geography once again. As we go up to Jerusalem, the pilgrims would have said, we can see that around Jerusalem, there are mountains. And just like those mountains are around Jerusalem, God is also securing us. He's protecting us. He surrounds his people both now and forevermore, the Psalm says. So if one twenty four is about help, Psalm a 124, 25 is about security, Psalm a 126 is about joy. It's like a dream, the author says. We're living a dream. It's amazing the things that we can see now after our exile. We can see that God was always with us, and he looked after us. And that brings about this sense of joy, help, security, and joy.”

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