“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?” – Psalm 27:1
For the second day, we’re looking at Psalm 27:1. On Tuesday we talked about the fact that God is our light and our salvation. Now we’re to the part where he is the stronghold of our lives.
The word “stronghold” brings up a lot of pictures in my head. I think of a place that is fully permeated by the powerful force that owns it. I think of a place that is guarded by the best defense system you can get — the most well-trained soldiers, maybe a dragon. It’s somewhere that attacks against you are destined to fail because you are protected by something bigger than yourself or your enemy.
What’s bigger than God? What’s bigger than His hand in our lives, and His heart and love for us? What dragon or military force is more powerful than the blood of Jesus Christ?
When we’re feeling exposed on any level, whether it’s health wise, financially, emotionally, spiritually, we have a place to go where we are covered and surrounded by the greatest protective force in the Universe. That doesn’t mean things can’t happen that displease us, but it means they can’t harm us.
Throughout the Bible, you see the word “stronghold” interchanged with “fortress,” and usually paired with the word “rock.” Psalm 18:2 says, “The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”
God is unshakeable. We’ve talked before about how He will shake your life so only that which is unshakeable remains. He is giving us this promise that if we abide in Him, if we take shelter in His fortress and on His rock, as Isaiah 54:17 says, “‘No weapon forged against you will prevail, and you will refute every tongue that accuses you. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and this is their vindication from me,’ declares the Lord.”
I love the military imagery, because that’s where we are now: In a battle between right and wrong. It’s a constant war between good and evil. Let God be your stronghold and fortress. ❤️
