I love John Wayne. When I was a girl, his old westerns thrilled my heart. They may not have been the best cinema created, but they are endearing. I raised my boys on those movies, though there was the one Christmas my son finally said, “Please no more John Wayne movies Mom.” Even if I overdid it, those movies worked their way into my kids’ hearts as well as my own.

Even though I knew he would survive, my heart always raced as the soldiers sped back to the fortress with the enemy on their tail. Would they make it? If they just could reach the fortress, they would be safe!

In our spiritual lives, we can sense the enemy on our tails. He is hunting us down and seeking to destroy. Will we survive? Will we make it to safety? The answer is, Yes! If we reach the Fortress, we will endure. Over the last few days we have thanked God for being our Rock and our Refuge. He is also our Fortress- a strong castle designed for safety in defensive AND offensive warfare.

When we are engaging in spiritual work, we never need worry about being caught unprotected or vulnerable if we stay securely planted in our Fortress. He rescues and guards His children.

• Incline your ear to me; rescue me speedily! Be a rock of refuge for me, a strong fortress to save me! For you are my rock and my fortress; and for your name's sake you lead me and guide me; (Psalm 31:2-3 ESV)

If I live in the knowledge of how God wants to protect me, confidence will replace fear. I will look at what I can’t do and at what assails me and my defense will be the truth I proclaim.

• I will say to the LORD, "My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." (Psalm 91:2 ESV)

The responsibilities, chores, people, and needs around me can be overwhelming. I am not strong enough, stout enough, or resilient enough to hold up. But God is my Strength! He is my Fortress in the day of my distress and He shows me steadfast love. How grateful I am for the opportunity to reside in Him and how much I have to praise. I respond to the steadfast love I experience as I reside in my Fortress with praise!

• O my Strength, I will watch for you, for you, O God, are my fortress. ... But I will sing of your strength; I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning. For you have been to me a fortress and a refuge in the day of my distress. O my Strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love. (Psalm 59:9, 16-17 ESV)

My Rock and my Refuge and my Fortress, the Lord God allows me to continually come to Him, because His plan is to save me!

• Be to me a rock of refuge, to which I may continually come; you have given the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress. (Psalm 71:3 ESV)

I might sometimes to be tempted to look elsewhere for protection. But my Fortress, and He alone, is my only reliable option. I am thankful for the sureness of His shelter.

• He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken. (Psalm 62:2 ESV)

He is all I need. His surrounding care covers me completely.

• He is my steadfast love and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield and he in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me. (Psalm 144:2 ESV)

ALL that I need for spiritual safety, my Lord provides. My physical world may crumble. I may live in precarious times. But when I plant my feet into the Lord, my heart, mind, and strength could not be safer.

• The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. (Psalm 18:2 NASB)

What worries you today? Does it seem that the enemy is in pursuit and on your tail? Then thank  God that He is your Fortress and that He provides you safety. Run to Him, because He is our Refuge!

Prayer

Oh Lord, my Fortress, thank You! Thank You for Your invincible protection over me. I can hardly fathom how thorough Your care is.

I often feel in need of rescue. My heart and mind feel assaulted by the sin that pervades my world. As our culture wanders further and further from You, I seem to be confronted with glorified sin at every turn. Thank You for offering me Yourself for protection. And thank You for never wearying of me showing up. You offer continual protection, and I need Your care over and over again.

You, and You alone are my Fortress. I don’t want to run anywhere other than You. Please forgive me for substituting other, uncertain, insufficient imposters, instead of always coming only to You for security. You are steadfast and all I need. I want to stay squarely in You.

Thank You for each way You are my solid ground: my Rock, my Fortress, my Refuge. Thank You for Your extravagant care.

Amen

I pray you experience a renewed sense of all the Lord provides for you- WHAT He does for you! Ask Him to give you a mental picture of how He is your fortress and then rest in His stability. And with that clarity, sing to Him! Praise and thank Him! He does such great things for us.

• Oh sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth! Sing to the LORD, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples! For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared above all gods. (Psalm 96:1-4 ESV)