A Strong Fortress!

December 29, 2022

A Strong Fortress!

During the first two months of 2023, I would like to share some reflections on the character of the Lord God in Psalm 91. 

My hope is to provide insights that will help your relationship with the Lord to go deeper and wider than it is today.  Or if you don’t have a relationship with the Lord yet, my hope is that as you learn more about the character of the Lord you will open your heart and life to Him.

A few years ago, I was asked to lead a memorial service for a man I did not know.  When I met with the family, I listened to their memories of him as well as their deep grief and loss.  Towards the end of our conversation, I asked if the man they loved or if any of them had a favorite Scripture that they would like me to read at the memorial service. 

Their response was almost immediate; “We would like you to read Psalm 91!”  There was a lot of energy around their response so I asked why the verse was so meaningful.  The conversation that followed inspired me in such a way that I have never again read Psalm 91 in quite the same way.

The family shared that when their father entered the military during World War II, that he and every soldier he knew was given a wallet-sized card with Psalm 91 printed on it.  During World War II, Psalm 91 was known as “The Soldier’s Prayer.” 

The family told me that their father had prayed the Psalm every day during the war as well as every day after he returned home.  Then, they pulled out the wallet-sized card their father carried with Psalm 91 printed on it.  My heart was touched by the father’s faith and his witness to his family.

I will always be thankful for that family.  Although I had never met them before that day, they opened my eyes to read Psalm 91 with fresh eyes.  Since that time, I have realized that Psalm 91 focuses upon the character of the Lord God.  It is the character of God as well as His amazing love for us where we find our hope and our joy!

Here is the first attribute of the character of God; the Lord God is a strong fortress!

In Psalm 91:1-2 we hear; “You who live in the shelter of the Most High, who abide in the shadow of the Almighty, will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust.’”

The Lord God is my strong fortress!  When the pain is too intense and just keeps coming and when the Enemy keeps attacking and I don’t know if I can resist much longer and when the disappointment keeps threatening to derail my dream, I need a strong fortress where I can find hope.

A strong fortress provides a place of protection, a place of peace, and a place of refuge when the attacks from outside continue to wage war against my hope and my joy and my peace.  Psalm 91 reminds me that when I continue to trust in the Lord God as my strong fortress I will live and hope and thrive.

As you look toward a new year with refreshed dreams, renewed faith, and revived hope, I encourage you to lean heavy into the Lord as your strong fortress. 

Trust your Strong Fortress to protect you. 

Retreat to your Strong Fortress for refuge and renewed courage.

Live with your Strong Fortress as your strength.

And then, declare with the Psalmist; “My refuge and my fortress; my God, in whom I trust.”  When you do, your heart will be filled with delight in the Lord God.

Happy New Year!

Doug

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