Sharing: The Lord is the Stronghold of my Life

GOD IS MY LIGHT AND STRONGHOLD
The LORD is my light and my salvation–whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life–of whom shall I be afraid? (Psalm 27:1)

I was shut up in my dark room, waiting for the waves of the flare to lift. Oh, how I had tried to keep my little light shining! I thought I had learned to spot the signs of encroaching darkness; I thought I could recognize when the waves of pain would approach. Apparently, I had missed one too many of those signs, and I now felt forced into an isolating rest. My light had failed, and I struggled to glimpse how my Savior’s light could shine in this darkened room of pain.

Do we know that the Lord is truly our light?
If we do, how do we let His light guide us through the dark days of pain and weakness?

David (the author of Psalm 27) knew what it meant to face dark places. King Saul had chased him unrelentingly and even tried to take his very life. In fact, when David wrote of the Lord being his stronghold, he had spent a time of desolation-dwelling in a place commonly known as the strongholds of En Gedi.

It was a forlorn place, with caves built into the sides of the cliffs that were perfect for hiding. A spring with nourishing water for those who had survived the desert was hidden there. Photos of En Gedi taken by visitors to Israel can give us a glimpse of the landscape and surroundings.

The utter desolation is shocking. How could God have led David to those dry and forsaken lands? Yet, the phrase David wrote while he was in En Gedi, cut off from his home, was this: GOD is the stronghold of my life. He realized that the place that felt so forlorn had become God’s protection during the years of his enemy’s pursuit. God provided all He needed during the days of desolation, even placing a spring of water in the middle of the barrenness.

REST IN THE LORD, OUR STRONGHOLD
The Greek word for stronghold (ochyrōma) means a place of safety, protection, or refuge.

Can we ask God to show us how He is our stronghold, our safety, our protector, our refuge on days when we feel forsaken and desolate?

I would love to have you join me over at Chronic Joy for the rest of this post that I shared there. Click here for the audio and full version.

As is most often the case, Chronic Joy shared this post at a time when I needed to hear these words the Lord gave me several years ago. Here in the Midwest we’ve been in the midst of a desert type heatwave. And my body has felt the heat of a medical desert as I’m trialing another medication. Will these reactions diminish so that I can continue?

Or will the heat of Rheumatoid Arthritis try to gain the upper hand again?

Yet my Heavenly Father, my Great Physician is not stymied by the heat. He is the stronghold of my life. He has fountains unknown to me, and light to shine in my heart.

One evening, as the heat of the day subsided, I sat outside resting by our garden. I was so encouraged by the blooms of this petunia called “Headliner Electric Purple Sky.” Its flashy stars called to me, and a poem prayer rose up in my heart:

Are you facing a desert in your life? We are walking in this world that belongs to our Heavenly Father, the creator of it all. He has fountains unknown waiting for you too.

He is our only true stronghold.

A friend sent me this song today. I pray it blesses you as much as it blessed me: