Of Refuges and Fortresses

"He who dwells in  the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust."
(Psalm 91:1, 2)

We are short on castles in America. I wish we had a few around, lying about here or there. I have never actually seen one close up (not that I can remember anyway)--I have read enough and seen enough pictures to be mystified by them--but I think it would help us all just a bit to get a better picture of what God does and is for us if we could actually lay our eyeballs on the real thing.

God is a house for us, a house made of stone, a mountainous house made of stone and founded upon a mountain of stone--a rock fortress upon the heights. No enemy can breach His walls, no arrows can penetrate to the Secret Place in which we dwell. He is a walled city, complete with all we need for life abundant. We are not only safe from enemies without but provided with all of our needs within. 

All of life besides is unsure--but a shadow. But here is the assurance we have in Him: God's very shadow is a safer place than any other thing of so-called substance to which we may entrust ourselves here on earth. No castle of money, modern medicine, government, relationships, or any other created thing affords us the security our Refuge and Fortress can. Safely inside Him, however, no other created thing has a chance against us.

"For I am persuaded that neither death or life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38, 39)

"Great God of heaven and earth, in You we trust, for there is no other so trustworthy. Protect us, provide for us, deliver us, grant to us life. We thank You for the safety we have found in Christ and the life we have through Him. Thank You for being a Rock and a Fortress, a Castle and Citadel to which we can run and find refuge. Defend us against our enemies all around, heal our diseases, and fill us with the hope of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."