The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?Psalm 27:1
These words have been a good medicine for my soul, and I return to them often.
One of the gifts of being a Christian is that there is nothing to fear. I say this a lot, when caring for souls at Grace.
When I say it, I hear a voice in my head that says, “But there *is* stuff to fear.” I can also see that the person across from me is thinking it, too. It’s a look in their eyes that is unmistakable.
But there is nothing to fear ultimately. And knowing there is nothing to fear ultimately has an uncanny ability to dispel present fears presently.
In the world of the psalms, a “stronghold” was a fortress, a base, a safe zone, a defensive position to which one could retreat if weary from a battle, short on supplies, or overwhelmed by attack.
It was a place to regroup for a bit, in order to fight another day.
Psalm 27 teaches that you and I have a stronghold. But, in ways that are too precious for words, it isn’t cave, or a fortified outpost built by stones, or mud, or brick. Instead, It is the Lord himself. There is nothing like a stronghold that is a Someone.
He is an always safe place for us to rest, be protected, be tended to, be renewed, and lay low for awhile.
In the face of the assault of evil, the weariness of life in this world, the depleted state of your body and soul, you have a place you can go.
You don’t have to be afraid.