The Strong Hold of Life

“The Lord is my light and salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?”  Psalm 27:1

It is fascinating to watch the squirrels in the backyard jump from tree to tree and land on what seems to me a small branch for such big squirrels.  The squirrels seem to hold on tightly to the branch, and then they quickly jump to another one going up and down trees enough to make one tired just watching them.  The baby squirrels are learning to hold on as they chase one another around the trees.  I have seen a few mishaps, but those little ones just get up and keep trying.  Even in the wind they hold on as the branches sway in the breeze.  It is amazing how God created these squirrels.  They are definitely entertaining.

We went biking recently around Indian Lake.  The wind was stronger than we anticipated.  A few times the gust of wind caught my bike, and I had to hold on tighter.  We thought the wind would be at our backs when we turned around, but it was just as intense.  The wind was coming from all directions it seemed.  It was a beautiful sunny day, but the wind made the ride a challenge along with dodging all the goose droppings on the trail. The wind had a strong hold on how fast we could go.

So, what has a strong hold on you right now?  Sometimes strongholds are negative like anxiety, fear, addiction, depression, and they can control our direction and stability in life.  Grief can have a stronghold on us too.  Yes, we need to grieve, and it will be part of the rest of our lives, but it does not need to control all of life.  It is living with grief.  Just like there will be situations that bring fear and anxiety, it does not mean we have to stop living and finding moments of joy in life.  Sometimes we have to do things afraid.  It is not letting the fear or anxiety have a stronghold on participating in life.

Stronghold is also positive.  Psalm 27:1 describes the Lord as the “stronghold of my life.”  God is our safety and protection.  God holds us up in the winds of life.  We do not see the wind, but we can feel it and see the results of it.  We cannot see God, but we can feel His presence and receive His peace and comfort.  God also helps us maneuver around the “droppings” of life, that is, the messes and problems and mistakes of life.

I have been pondering this concept of the stronghold of God and trying to visualize what it looks like for me.  The image that comes to my mind is like sitting in a fortified and sturdy chair wrapped in God’s presence.  The chair has arms where I rest my arms upon Jesus.  Every time I think of this image, it brings peace to my soul and pulls me into the presence of God. 

The worries and problems of life can get a hold on us and pull us away from the One who holds us and protects us.  This is a trust issue.  Do we trust God to take care of our needs in His timing not ours?  It is surrendering daily and recognizing God is in every moment and sees the big picture that we do not see.  God has a strong hold on us.  God will not let us go.  Fear, worry, anxiety, and struggles get in our head and cycle on repeat.  We fear God will not take care of us, so we have to be in control and our thoughts go to figuring it out on our own.  It is putting God in our thoughts first in the morning when we awake and allow God to be strong for us.

Listen sometime to Anne Wilson’s song, “Strong.”  Some of the words are –

“The world’s gonna try to break me.  But I know the one who makes me Strong.  I’m strong when I got nothing.  I’m strong even when I’m weak.  ‘Cause the strong arms of my Savior are holding on to me.”

Strong.  God has a strong hold on you!  God will never let you go.  You can trust Jesus.  God is the stronghold of my life.

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