WEDNESDAY February 12th
Psalm 18:2
‘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.’
Some of these words in this verse seem to be very similar, in that they are all to do with our safety in the Lord, and in our application of them in the Lord Jesus Christ. We considered deliverer yesterday and linked it to be placed upon the rock, I like the picture that is given here of the Lord being our fortress and as a result we can take refuge in him.
He is also our shield, I don’t know what kind of picture you can visualise here, but I see God like an enormous shield that is all around me protecting me from all the enemy would seek to fire at me, we read of a shield in Ephesians 6:16 where it is called the shield of faith, ‘In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one . . .’ Notice it is THE shield not A shield, there is only one effective and true shield and it is the shield that is established upon the faith that comes in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no shield in any other faith. We can link this to 1 John 5:4 ‘For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.’ The shield of faith enables us to become overcomers in this world.
But then, as I shared recently in our family service, the Lord is also our stronghold who also has a strong hold of us, holding us tight, holding us close.
Is it not an encouragement to know using a modern phrase that God has got our back!
He has paid the ultimate price to redeem us and once he has gotten a hold on us he does not want to let us go, he wants to hold us close, he wants to protect us at all cost, he wants us to come to the place where we are daily willing to run into him, to hide in him and to be held closely by him.
Wherever you are at today, whatever the trial or the circumstances that you are going through, you are not alone, and you are not left without a defence or refuge, for God has made himself available to each one of us through the Lord Jesus Christ, not just as our Salvation, but as all that this wonderful verse reminds us, ‘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.’
Let me quote the words of the song I used a week or so ago in the family service:
I will sing praise, I will lift my voice.
I will sing praise, I’ve made my choice.
I will sing praise, in all I do.
I will sing praise to you.
No matter the storms that come my way.
No matter the trials I may face.
You promise that you would see me through
So I will trust in you