Where Do I Go? Who Do I Run To?

Someone asked me the other day who I had to lean on when going through difficult trials. There was and is only one answer:

"I will love You, O Lord, my strength.

The Lord is my ROCK and my FORTRESS and my DELIVERER;

My GOD, my STRENGTH, in Whom I will trust;

My SHIELD and the HORN OF MY SALVATION, my STRONGHOLD.

I will call upon the Lord,

Who is worthy to be praised;

So shall I be saved from my enemies.

The pangs of death surrounded me,

and the floods of ungodliness made me afraid.

The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me;

The snares of death confronted me.

In my distress I called upon the Lord,

and cried out to my God;

He heard my voice from His temple,

and my cry came before Him,

even to His ears."

Psalms 18:1-6

"He sent from above, He took me;

He drew me out of many waters.

He delivered me from my strong enemy,

from those who hated me,

for they were too strong for me.

They confronted me in the day of my calamity,

but the LORD was my SUPPORT.

He also brought be out into a broad place;

He DELIVERED me,

because HE DELIGHTED IN ME!"

Psalm 18:16-19

"For who is God, except the Lord?

And who is a rock, except our God?

Is is GOD who arms me with strength,

and makes my way perfect.

He makes my feet like the feet of deer,

and sets me on my high places."

Psalm 18:31-33

"The Lord lives!!

Blessed be my ROCK!

Let the God of my salvation be exalted."

Psalm 18:46

AND I CRIED OUT "HALLELUJAH!!"

It is God and no other Who has saved me!

It is God and no other Who has rescued me!

There is NO GOD like JEHOVAH!!!

My dear friend...Let me tell you from personal experience...Jesus is the Rock that you can cling to when all the world has turned against you.  He is the ONLY Savior Who will rescue you from sinking sand and the overwhelming floods of life.  There is no other who can save you. There is no other who can restore you. There is no other who can carry you when you cannot take one. more. step.  

Do you know this Jesus?  Have you learned to call upon His Name? That's all you need to know.

He is all you need to know.  Call upon HIS MIGHTY NAME, and your cry will come before 

God Almighty..."even to His ears!" (see verse 6 above)

I don't think there is anything else I need to add to this.  God's Word is true. He does not lie.

If you are lost and feeling all alone, cry out to the Rock of YOUR Salvation! 

He will not turn you away. 

"Therefore I will give thanks to YOU, O Lord, among the Gentiles,

and sing praises to YOUR NAME!"

Psalm 18:49

Have You Entered the Fort?

Psalm 18:2-3  "The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; My God, my strength, in whom I will trust; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I will call upon the Lord, Who is worthy to be praised; so shall I be saved from my enemies."

When I was a little girl growing up in the back woods of our little town, there was a woodpile in our back yard that became my fort. With my trusty plywood rifle, I could fight off all the imaginary indians that were attacking from the woods surrounding our house.  Soon my big sister and I built real forts out in the woods where we would escape from the neighborhood boys (our big brothers and their friends). These forts were quite elaborate, made from sapling pine trees slashed together, with thatched palmetto branches for the walls and roof.  We spent many a day perfecting our fort and making it better than the boys', or so we thought.  Then they'd come and attack the fort and tear it down, and we'd have to start all over.  Of course, we retaliated and tried our best to destroy their fort as well. 

Ah, the innocence of youth! You know, the interesting thing is, these forts were in the thickest palmetto scrub of the old Florida piney woods, and we were often barefooted, without any kind of weapon to protect ourselves from the wild reptiles, scorpions and other creeping things who were the natural inhabitants of those woods.  When I look back on it now I realize that our guardian angels must have been working overtime to keep us safe from harm.  We never so much as saw or heard any snakes while playing in the safety of our woodland forts, but we know they had to be curled up and hiding nearby. We would often come home on a sunny day to find a six-foot rattlesnake stretched out across our road, and even one time actually lying across our doorstep, barring our path into the house! Our big brother became our hero that day as he quickly snuck around to the back of the house and found a sharp garden hoe with which to decapitate the unsuspecting slumbering diamondback. You can bet we each had a good story to tell our friends at school the next day!

Today I still live in a woodsy area, but I haven't seen a live rattlesnake in the open for many years. However,  the dangers that surround us now are oftentimes much more sinister and creepy than snakes that can be destroyed with a garden hoe.   The nightly news often reminds us that there are many two-legged enemies out there seeking to destroy our peace and sense of security, and we find ourselves barring the doors with more locks and alarms than any fortress ever had in the old days. Certainly there are real dangers there, and we need to practice proper safety techniques lest we be caught unaware.

Because our world has become so fraught with terror and insecurity, it is easy to give in to these fears and become captive in our own minds, afraid to venture out lest someone might unknowingly step onto a tender place in our hearts. Oftentimes our biggest enemies are the ones we create in our own hearts and minds...the internal enemies of self-defeat, self-pity, fear of failure, and lack of trust.  There is no weapon formed by man that can defeat these enemies, because the enemy is often within.  But there is One Who can deliver us from all fear...One who wants to be our fortress, our shield from danger, our stronghold in the face of the attack of any enemy, whether real or imaginary...Who is this strong deliverer? 

"Who is this King of glory?  The LORD strong and mighty, The LORD mighty in battle...Lift up your heads, O you gates! Lift up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in.  Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, He IS the King of Glory!" (Psalm 24:8-10)

"I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised; So shall I be saved from my enemies..."

Why not come into this fort and be saved from all your enemies...?