I love You, Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, my God, my mountain where I seek refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I was saved from my enemies. (Ps. 18:1-3)(HCSB)God is our refuge and strength, a helper who is always found in times of trouble. Therefore we will not be afraid, though the earth trembles and the mountains topple into the depths of the seas, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with its turmoil. (Ps. 46:1-3)(HCSB)
Rock...Fortress...Strength...Refuge...Deliverer...Shield...Stronghold... words used to describe our Lord in the two passages above and in many other passages in the Psalms. Another word used in the passage from Psalm 46 is "helper". And notice that it's not speaking of a once-in-a-while kind of helper, but a "helper who is always found in times of trouble." (HCSB) The NKJV reads "a very present help in trouble." We all need that kind of dependable help from time to time-- someone we can rely on. Not someone who's seemingly never around when you need them, but a friend you can always turn to. That's the kind of friend that Jesus is! We can always run to Him when we need shelter from the storms and hardships of this life. We can go to Him for a safe place of rest and protection. His very name itself is referred to as a strong tower we can run to in Proverbs 18:10--The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are protected. (HCSB)When we go to Him in our adverse times we can be encouraged with what Psalm 27:5-6 reveals to us: For He will conceal me in His shelter in the day of adversity; He will hide me under the cover of His tent; He will set me high on a rock. Then my head will be high above my enemies around me...(HCSB)
The Lord is an impenetrable fortress, a mighty stronghold that we can run to for safety and shelter and refuge, but that doesn't do us any good unless we turn to Him and take cover under his shadow for protection. It's kind of like this: I decide to go on a camping trip, and I purchase the biggest, strongest, most expensive tent known to mankind. When I find the perfect spot to camp out, I spend a couple of hours (I'm sure it would take me at least that long to figure it out) putting the tent together. And just as I'm finishing up, a rainstorm comes through, but instead of taking cover and shelter inside my super-duty tent, I decide to sit out in the open and get soaked instead. Would that make any sense? No, of course not! But many times we do just that with the Lord. We have the best refuge and safe haven to hide in, but unless we actually run to Jesus, our fortress, and hide in His protecting embrace, it's not going to do us any good.
We need to hide in the protection of a close relationship with Jesus. By reading and studying God's Word and spending time with the Lord daily in prayer and times of devotion we can experience the safety our deliverer provides. So let's not try to weather the rainstorms and troubles we face when all the time we have a very present help. Let's not wait 'til we're soaked and beaten up by the battles we encounter and then, finally, run into our strong tower. Let's go to Him daily and thereby save ourselves from unnecessary harm. He's our Rock and our Fortress, a helper who can always be found!
Singing His Praises,
Joey C.