THE LORD IS OUR REFUGE

I will love you, O Lord, my strength. The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I trust; my shield, the horn of my salvation, and my refuge. I will call on the name of the Lord, who is praiseworthy, and I will be free from my enemies. (Psalm 18: 1-3)

A rock is a type of solid foundation. When the waters of trial threaten to rise and drown us, we must do what David did and climb the rock that is taller than we are. David also called the Lord of his Strength. A fortress is a castle, a fort, a defense, a place where we go when we are being persecuted or attacked. It is not a hiding place in which the enemy can not find us. It is a place of protection in which we can see and be seen, but in which we can not be reached because we are safe under the protection of God.

David also called the Lord from his High Tower - another high, inaccessible place - and his Shield - which is part of the protective armor that surrounds him who believes in God (see Ephesians 6: 10-17). God is not only above us, but around us; He is even beneath us, because, as the psalmist tells us, "The Lord upholds the righteous" (Psalm 37:17).

God is holding us up with His mighty hand and surrounding us like the mountains surround the holy city of Jerusalem. The devil is against us; but God is for us, is around us, with us and in us. Because he cares for us, He watches over us and keeps us, so that we may find rest and peace in the shadow of His wings, when we cast all our anxiety upon Him.

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