YOUR REFUGE AND FORTRESS - PASTOR JOSEPH PRINCE

By -
Your Refuge and Fortress

I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust.”
Psalm 91:2

What are you saying of the Lord today? If you are saying He gave you the trouble you are presently in or an illness to teach you humility, it’s time to change what you believe about Him. If you really believe that God is the author of your problems, would you really be running to Him for help?
My friend, let’s be like the psalmist who declared, “I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust’” (boldface mine).
The Hebrew word for “refuge,” machaceh, refers to a shelter from storms and danger. This shelter is like the bunkers that many Jews have in their homes in Israel today to shelter them from small-scale attacks. In the figurative sense, when you say the Lord is your machaceh, you are also declaring that He is your place of hope.
The Lord is also your fortress. In Hebrew, the word used for “fortress” is matsuwd. It refers to a castle or stronghold, a place of defense and protection against large-scale attacks. Isn’t that a beautiful picture? Whatever you might be going through right now, you can declare that the Lord is your refuge and your fortress—your protection in both small as well as big attacks.
Perhaps you have not been saying that God is behind your troubles. Perhaps you are not saying anything about the Lord at all. Perhaps God seems far away and you feel cut off from Him. If that is you, can I encourage you to take a break today from whatever you have on your busy to-do list, and simply take time to dwell in His sweet presence? God is not distant; sometimes we are just too distracted to hear His voice or sense His loving presence.
Take a moment and see yourself in His secret place. Abide under His shadow. Savor His favor. Receive His wisdom. And find rest for your troubled soul. The feeling of being distant from God is only a feeling, nothing more. He has promised in His Word that He will never leave you nor forsake you (see Heb. 13:5). Our Lord Jesus paid for you to have access to God’s constant presence. At the cross, He cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” when God turned His back on Him (Matt. 27:46). He took our place and was rejected by God when He carried our sins so that today, we can take His place of being in the constant presence of the Father and take Him as our refuge and fortress.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PUT THE SPOTLIGHT ON JESUS' FINISHED WORK - PS JOSEPH PRINCE

By -
Image
I was alive once without the law, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died. And the commandment, which was to bring life, I found to bring death. Romans 7:9–10 In 1942, C S Lewis wrote a brilliant book entitled  The Screwtape Letters . It tells the story of a senior demon teaching a junior demon how to exploit man’s weaknesses and frailties. Along the same lines, I would imagine that Romans 7:9 is probably the most studied and memorized verse in hell. All junior demons would be taught this verse and the lecture would be titled, “How to bring about a revival of sin”! According to Paul, when you introduce the law, there will be a REVIVAL OF SIN! And that’s not all. Apart from reviving sin, the law also kills and brings death! Isn’t it amazing, then, that there are well-meaning ministers who preach strongly on the Ten Commandments, thinking that imposing the law would cause sin to be removed? According to Romans 3:20, “ by the law is the knowledge of sin .” I...
Read more

REST IN THE FATHER'S LOVE - PS JOSEPH PRINCE

By -
Image
“Though the mountains be shaken and the   hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not   be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,”   says the   Lord, who has compassion on you. Isaiah 54:10,  NIV I want to give you a simple but critical truth. Memorize this truth. Feed on it. Let it take root in your spirit and become an anchor in your life. You will never be the same again. Are you ready? Here it goes: As a child of God, no matter what happens in your life, your Father in heaven loves you dearly and nothing you do can ever change that. Will you believe that today? Whether you are going through good times or facing challenging times, you need to know that your Abba loves you. There is nothing that you can ever do to make Him love you more, and nothing that you can ever do to make Him love you less. Even—or perhaps  especially —when you feel like you have failed, know that you will  always  be the apple of His eye...
Read more