Psalm 27:1-3
The Lord is my light and my salvation —
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?
When the wicked advance against me to devour[a] me,
it is my enemies and my foes
who will stumble and fall.
Though an army besiege me,
my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
even then I will be confident.
What is a stronghold?
strong·hold
noun
1. a well-fortified place; fortress.
2. a place that serves as the center of a group, as of militants or of persons holding a controversial viewpoint
By now, if you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know I’m a fan of looking up words in the dictionary. Especially when it comes to scripture, I like to know the full meaning of a word. I feel it makes the scripture come alive, almost makes it like it’s three-dimensional, robust. I think that’s what looking up the word stronghold does for me today.
A well-fortified place
Where do you go when you’re scared? My midwest friends know that in a tornado, you go to the basement or a bathroom. Why? Because those parts of the home are well fortified. They’re stronger than the other parts of the house. The closets and bathrooms are strong because the walls are close together. Basements are strong, because their walls are supported by the earth itself.
When I was afraid
As a young teenager, I wanted to stay home alone. I wanted to have some independence. Probably my true motivation was to be able to watch what I wanted on TV, talk on the phone in privacy or eat what I wanted without getting a lecture on healthy eating. But sometimes, fear would get the better of me. I remember sometimes being so afraid that I would call my grandpa and have to talk to him to calm me down. I was using my Grandpa as my stronghold.
A place that serves as the center of a group or of persons holding a controversial viewpoint
Christianity is controversial. People don’t like to think that there’s only one way to heaven. That not everyone is right. That not everyone is going to go to heaven, no matter how “good” they were here on earth. Worse yet, crappy unkind people are going to make it into heaven. That’s controversial. What is the center of our “group” called Christianity?
The Center of my life
Growing up one of the things that made me feel most secure was knowing how much my father loved my mother. He would lovingly call her “Center”, because she was the center of his life. He called us the Radii, because we were an extension of the center. In our family, he made it clear that she was his top priority. I’m sure that dedication to my mother is part of why they’ve just celebrated their 47th year of marriage. And while it’s lovely that my father would say that, I know it wasn’t totally true. For both of my parents, the true center of their life was Christ. So many conversations in our house led back to God. Trusting in Him, Clinging to Him and worshiping Him.
Christ should be our stronghold our center
It’s easy as Christians to get distracted. Maybe we have a pastor who is an amazing preacher, and is really packing the church. It’s easy to start to think more about the great pastor than keeping your focus on the Lord. Or maybe we say we trust in God, but when push comes to shove, when we’re worried we’d rather look at our bank account than talk it through and trust in the Lord.
The Lord is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?
Because God is a well fortified place, a place that will keep me safe no matter what the storm, I can be confident. I don’t have to be afraid of what life serves up. Because God is not only that place, but also the center of my Christian life, I know where to turn. Instead of calling up my grandpa, I can turn to the Lord and rest in Him. Relying on the Lord for my confidence and strength.
What is your stronghold?
God is... 