Tag: protection

Summer Psalms: Stronghold

~ Barbara ~ 1 Comment

Once again, we find compelling comfort from the psalmist in this last Psalm of our series. He assures our hearts in Psalm 27:1, and then asks a probing question:

The Lord is my light and my salvation—
    whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
    of whom shall I be afraid?

Who, or what, causes us to fear when the Almighty God is our strong place? If we shift our attention from Him to the threats before us, we dangerously wander from the safety of our Stronghold. When we forget who God is, fear is ready to take hold.

If you argue that He did not keep you safe when this or that happened, I ask if you truly took refuge in Him. Did you fully trust His plans and purposes despite discomfort and hardship? He doesn’t guarantee that we will escape trouble, but He does promise to keep us safe from the enemy’s plots to harm us. When God is our stronghold, we live in the place where we know it is well with our soul because He holds us. He’s got this!

A stronghold is a fortress built to protect. It is a safe refuge, a sanctuary, a haven where we can hide. From this protected place, we can echo the words in verse 3:

Though an army besiege me,
    my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
    even then I will be confident.

The writer wanted only one thing: to live in the Lord’s presence all the days of his life. Only there would he experience the peace of being safely sheltered in God’s stronghold. May our hearts’ desire be as singular as that of the psalmist’s.

What makes you afraid? Is it personal, like health or finances? Is it relational, maybe the threat of abandonment? Is it our world, with wars, or our country with its strife and unrest?

There is only one place to hide, in the stronghold of God’s presence. From there, we can sing despite the taunts of darkness. Make the final words of Psalm 27 yours. Proclaim them from the safety of His stronghold:

Wait for the Lord;
    be strong and take heart
    and wait for the Lord.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Enemies

~ Barbara ~ 3 Comments

“We live in a hostile environment.” I drafted that sentence a week ago, before the assassination attempt. I was thinking about hostilities toward Biblical thought and aggressions against Christians and Christianity. I was fed up with the negativity of politics, on all sides. And then bullets were shot on a beautiful Saturday afternoon that took the life of a husband and father. I could easily be detracted from Psalm 23 and go off on who really pulled the trigger—whose words provided the ammunition for that fatal shot? But I will not go there. It’s a big story now, but it will fade, whereas the presence of our spiritual enemies will remain a constant.

Our enemies are not weaponized with physical bullets. They deliver spiritual attacks on our person, our minds, our psyche. They besiege us with thoughts that sow fear and suggestions that incite anger. They aim at our faith and attempt to render us ineffective. In this setting Psalm 23:5 offers us assurance:

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

He makes provision for us. He feeds us what is needed to prevail. He sets us apart. We are able to overcome because our supply overflows.

Do not wander from the Shepherd or His flock. We need His care and protection and we need the flock.

Photo by Sally Teschon

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