Fortress

I love you, Lord; you are my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my savior; my God is my rock, in whom I find protection. He is my shield, the power that saves me, and my place of safety. I called on the Lord , who is worthy of praise, and he saved me from my enemies.

Psalms 18:1-3

When I was a child, my friends and I would build tree forts.  No one knew we were there because we disguised them. There we would do those weird things young boys do, like read comic books, smoke (and choke) on a cigar one of the guys stole from his Dad, joke and laugh.  We felt safe and secure in our tree fort.  But there also came time when we had to leave it and enter the world again.

What is the purpose of a fortress?  It is a place where you feel safe. It a place where you are protected. It is a place where you are secure from intruders.  Yet a fortress cannot move.  BUT, consider that Abba is our fortress.  In Him we are safe and secure. In Him we are protected. In Him we find comfort.  And, here's the kicker, our fortress we have in Abba goes with us everywhere we go. We call on Him and He answers. We flee to Him and we are protected. We go to Him because we know we are loved!

There are times we seem to forget that, or am I the only one.  Yet Abba never forgets and never leaves us and always loves us.  Maybe it's time we tell Abba thank you for being our fortress.

 

There's A Light!

The Lord is my light and my salvation—
    so why should I be afraid?
The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger,
    so why should I tremble?

~Psalm 27:1 

 

What is the purpose of light? To illuminate the area around us so we can see where we are going and what we are going.  That's part of it.  

 

Light is also used to guide and draw others toward it.  If you are lost and see a light, chances are you will make your way toward the light.  Light gives direction to ships at sea as well.  A ship sees the light and knows that there is land close by and it also is a good idea to check the charts to see if the light is warning of rocks, wrecks, and other hazards.

 

God is our light!  He guides us, shows us where the dangers are, draws us to Him, shows us the path we should take.  

 

What is the purpose of a fortress?  To keep the things out that seek to do us harm or destroy us.  Inside the fortress, we are safe and have no need to fear.  Fortresses in the time of the Psalmist were places of protection where the citizens could enter and be safe from marauders.  Fortresses took relatively few soldiers to defend it, in comparison to the vast armies it would take to conquer it.  And God's fortress is manned by God Himself!  Who or what have we to fear!

 

Yesterday, we were reminded to Armor Up and today we see God's light so we can enter His fortress and feel safe and secure.  But here's the point:  Light only works if you look for it.  Fortresses only protect those who enter it.  Let's not stand idle!