A Modern Woman's Perspective On The Kingdom of God on Earth


May 29, 2016

Psalm 27:1

The Lord is my light and my salvation—
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the refuge and fortress of my life—
Whom shall I dread?


     I love this image of a lighthouse being pounded by the waves!  It gives me a picture of the Lord as my Light and my refuge and my fortress as the circumstances of this world, and the forces in the spiritual realm, batter me in their attempt to separate me from the presence of my Lord.
     Notice the person standing in the doorway of the lighthouse, seeming impervious to the powerful force surrounding them.  That's how we can feel when we stand firm in our faith and the power and protection of God.  Whom shall we fear, and whom shall we dread?  No one and nothing!
     As we continue educating ourselves on what the Word says about trusting in the authority of Jesus and our access to His power, we will learn that He is our stronghold; a strong tower in which we can weather the storms, and from which we can stand our ground during attacks.  We can seek Him and find Him there, where He is battling for us and with us.  
     Remember, the Enemy seeks to handicap you and separate you from your presence with God by taking you into bondages of fear, dread, anger, unforgiveness, idolatry, lust, or whatever weakness he can find to exploit.  But if we make God our stronghold and our fortress, we can partner with Him so that we are carried to victory in any situation.  Remember, we never find freedom from bondage in our independence.  We must willingly enter His refuge and bind ourselves to Him.  He is our protection and the rock upon which we stand.  
     Whenever we venture out of His haven and partake of the world, we can expect to encounter opposition, temptations, and lies.  We must come to the realization that we are not strong enough to resist any of these on our own.  And the Enemy knows this!  So, if he can convince you not to immediately run back into that strong tower, you just might find that a barrier has been erected, one brick at a time; one that is a stronghold of sin (pride, fear, arrogance, doubt, etc.) that will keep you isolated and blocked from re-entering God's protective shelter.  
     That will be a painful lesson to learn.  We may find ourselves unable to fight off the spirits who feed that pride, or that fear.  We will find that our own strength is incapable of winning that battle, and the spiritual enemy has actually gained in strength to further imprison us.  It is imperative that we know that our victory is conditional.  We don't become victors by conquering the enemy on our own.  We become victors through surrender to Christ, and His victory becomes ours.  
     We must also remember that the longer we stay away from, or out of our towers of refuge, the more time the enemy has to add one more brick to that concrete barrier between you and the safety of God's fortress.  Pretty soon, you realize that you are in a fortress alright, but it's one that the devil has constructed around you.  It might be one that you think offers you comfort and familiarity; you've become used to it and it's not too threatening.  But the enemy will not be content to leave you in that state of serenity.  You will soon find that this fortress built on prolonged sin has become a prison.  Your human effort is useless in demolishing your strongholds.  Prayer can be effective in destroying such strongholds, but it will take the supernatural power of God to set you free.
     I think we can all agree that fear and dread can be powerful forces in our day-to-day living.  But notice that the Lord is the answer to both.  His Divine Power is a weapon we can call upon whenever we feel attacked.  We are not to go into battle alone or without His Authority.  When we remain under His protection, we are never to doubt that He will go to battle with us, and that it is Him leading the charge!  We can confidently and trustingly stand in the midst of the roaring waves, never fearing that we will be overpowered and swept away.  His strength will become our strength, and the enemy cannot defeat us.


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