My Refuge and My Fortress

Posted on June 25, 2018 by America's Keswick in Victory Call

“I will say to the Lord, ‘My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.'” – Psalm 91:2

God is mighty, wise, all-knowing, all-powerful, beyond compare. He is creator of all things seen and not seen. And yet He is so relational that He desires my friendship and my trust.

Growing up, I was taught that God sent Jesus to die for the sins of the world. I knew John 3:16 said, “For God so loved the world…” and that seemed like a generic love for everyone, not specific to me. I felt as if I was just a blip in the overall scheme. This distorted identity was very deeply ingrained in me and caused me to make some poor choices along the way. I could not accept that Jesus died for me personally or that He would have rescued me if I were the only one on earth. I wanted it to be true but He seemed so very quiet and far away.  It wasn’t until I went to a conference at Grace Fellowship International that I realized that it wasn’t Jesus who was far off. It was that I had never “accepted my acceptance.” In other words, all the evidence was there for God’s very personal love but I had not accepted it fully.  I had been saved as a young child so I belonged to Him, but I had not accepted that He loved me passionately. At that conference I believed fully that I was loved deeply by the King of the Universe and that He was worthy of my trust. He had been waiting to be the refuge and fortress for me. I just needed to accept His help.

Why does He care so much about a relationship with each one of us? My sister Judee is an incredible artist. I am in awe of her work and am so glad that we live in an age of technology so that I can see her creative genius at work, even though she lives far away. When she paints, she invests a part of herself in her artwork. In a sense it will always be a part of her. She is very passionate about painting and very productive, so in her lifetime she will paint thousands of individual works of art. Father, in a similar way, expresses His creativity in each person born in this world and invests Himself in every individual. He deeply desires relationship with each one of us. He craves our trust and delights in our praise. He wants to be our fortress and our refuge. He is passionate about having a deep, intimate relationship with each of us individually.

Who is your refuge? Where is your fortress? In what or whom do you trust when things are overwhelming? If you are trusting another person, they are bound to disappoint you. Money and possessions disappear. Jobs go away. Children grow up and leave. Health can change in an instant.  If you are trusting Father and living with Him as your fortress, nothing can destroy you.

Written by Cherri Raws Freeman: Cherri Raws Freeman is the author of the book Beside Still Waters: Discovering Peace in the Midst of Your Child’s Addiction. She and her husband Joe, a graduate of the Colony of Mercy, founded Love Them to Life, a support ministry for mothers of addicts. Cherri is  a graduate of Wheaton College and the mother of 5 adult children, 2 of which struggled with addiction issues.