God Is Our Fortress Series

We continue in our theme Dare to be Different and our focus this month is Different Fortification.

The dictionary defines fortification as a defensive wall or other reinforcement built to strengthen a place against attack.

For us, as Christians, our fortification is not found in anything we could construct ourselves,

our fortification is a spiritual fortification in God.

Our Spiritual Fortification is certain and secure in God because it is based upon our total dependence in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour.

God is our only source of strength, security and salvation in this broken and sin-sick world.

I am going to make an assumption and perhaps you can show me how accurate my assumption is by raising your hand if at some time in your life you have experienced some kind of problem or difficulty.

Can you please keep your hand raised if your problem or difficulty was bigger than God could deal with.

Ok, have a look around, are any hands still raised?

In every circumstance, in every situation, God was sufficient.

God is bigger and stronger than any problem all of us have ever faced.

That tells me something, actually, it should tell all of us something...

Whatever lies ahead in each of our lives, whatever difficulty is lurking around the corner, God is able to work in and through the circumstance.

God is our refuge, God is our deliverer, God is our everything and we can trust Him because He still cares about you and me.

Life may not be easy, but God is with us.

We may experience difficult situations and circumstances, but God is with us.

Big problems or small problems, the Bible teaches us that even in the midst of turmoil and trouble,

God is good, God is faithful and we can always trust His love, grace, mercy and strength.

The not so secret, secret is: when trouble comes we need to focus on God and trust Him and praise Him for providing our spiritual fortification.

King David wrote in Psalm 27:1, The Lord is my light and my salvation— so why should I be afraid? The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble? (Psalm 27:1)

Perhaps it is easier for us to read this verse than it is to live it out in our daily lives. Instead of trusting in His protection, we get anxious. Instead of relying on God to be our fortress, we experience fear, we worry about what we can do in our own wisdom or strength, instead of trusting in our Lord.

Remember, God’s timing is not our timing.

If we are honest, although God’s timing is always perfect we really don’t want to wait, do we?

Sometimes we need to wait.

Sometimes we need to pause.

Sometimes we need to spend time trusting God before He moves in our situation and circumstance.

God is our fortress, and we can trust God in every situation and circumstance.

We need to seek God in every situation and focus on His faithfulness and goodness in all things.

King David had confidence in God, in the midst of terrible circumstances his focus was always on God.

God is his light, his salvation, and his fortress.

David turns to God and lives his life secure in God’s presence.

David listens to God’s voice.

David has confidence in God and he sings with joy.

In the midst of his troubles he knows God will never forsake him, he knows God will always guide him.

David knows that even when he has to wait patiently for God to answer his prayer, he can be confident he will see the Lord’s goodness.

Do you trust God, in the same way, this morning?

Do you have the same confidence in God that King David had?

Do you trust His faithfulness to you?

Is your focus on God as your fortress, your refuge, your strength?

All of us need to focus on God, to keep our eyes fixed on Him. Do you remember when Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water towards Jesus? While Peter’s focus was on Jesus, he was able to walk upon the waves.

The moment Peter moved his focus from Jesus to the water Peter began to sink.

Instead of being Spiritually fortified by focussing on Jesus, Peter turned his face from Jesus and allowed the situation to take control.

Yet, the moment when Peter called out to Jesus, Jesus immediately reached out to save Peter.

Just as when we call out to Jesus, He reaches out to help us, to save us, to strengthen and deliver us.

Isaiah said of God in Isaiah 26:3 “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you!” and Philippians 4:6-7 says, Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.