Strongholds…good or bad
We all have a need for security
We all desire to feel safe and wanted and loved
We will either have a stronghold that is built by another or
we will build one for ourselves
What are some of the reasons we build our strongholds?
·
We are afraid
·
We are alone or at least feel alone
·
We have been hurt and we want to feel protected
from that hurt and to never feel it again
·
We think no one else will take care of us
·
We feel unloved or unlovable
·
We don’t
trust God to meet all of our needs
·
We think we deserve to be walled up and alone
·
We are afraid to let others really know us
·
We know that there are those that are seeking to
harm us, whether physically, emotionally, spiritually, mentally
So because of all these fears and lack of trust we build our
little fort around us to basically keep the world out and what we are clinging
to inside with us. Because we are not
trusting God to build our tower we are in essence believing the lies that the enemy
is telling us. We are trusting in our
own strength and giving into the same temptation that Adam and Eve fell for in
the Garden….we can do this ourselves and no one will be as good at taking care
of us as we are.
The reason this is false is because we tend to lie to
ourselves as much as we lie to others.
We give in to the fear and lose all sense of reason. Instead of acting, we continue to react to
situations and people. We do not trust
God or believe He is able to provide complete protection.
There are lies we know we will have to give up if we allow
God to be our stronghold and we still love them too much to let them go. Whether it be sin, or fear, or being the
victim, or habits, it is so much a part of us that we cannot imagine us without
it. We feel it defines us. We give it the power to be god in our life.
Until we come to the point where we see it for the lie it
is…or we love God more than whatever is holding us back, we will remain in a
crumbling tower held together by lies.
But this is not the picture we get of a stronghold given to us by David
in the Psalms.
When we were on the train passing near the area of Stirling,
Scotland, as we looked out the window at the passing countryside we were amazed
to see a huge tower off in the distance.
It was on a hill and was the tallest structure to be seen anywhere
around. It was magnificent and imposing
and we wondered at what in the world it could be. Was it some majestic castle that had survived
the years? It was not too long before we
came to realize that it was the William Wallace Memorial and it stood as a
reminder to a time when Scotland had defeated the British in the fighting for
their independence. From that time we
decided we needed to get a closer look.
We asked around in the train station at Stirling and found that it was
not in Stirling but a smaller town a few miles away. It was not close enough to walk to but we
were told that we could get there by bus.
We opted to take the Red Bus, which was a tour bus that went all around
Stirling to its major sites and also into the countryside by the Memorial as well
as the other direction to Bannockburn where there was a memorial to the Bruce.
It took a few days but we finally had made our way to
Stirling and we purchased our tickets and sat on the bus and listened as our
driver told us some of the history of the area as we traveled around the city
and then into the countryside. We passed
the river and the fields where the battles had taken place and were told how
Wallace had outwitted the English soldiers and caught them in a marshy area and
caused them to be defeated because they were forced to march in single file and
the weight of their equipment made it impossible for them to fight. Basically the Scots just waited for them and
picked them off one by one.
We were dropped off in a parking lot at the base of the hill
and told we could either walk up the hill to the Monument or wait and take a
shuttle up. Not wanting to wait and
especially not wanting to pay extra for the shuttle we started the walk up the
hill. That climb probably took 20-30
minutes. When we got to the tower I was
quite tired so went into their little café and had some tea while my husband
roamed around outside taking pictures.
When my husband, David, came in he was ready to make the
climb to the top, I was not so sure I wanted to pay but was talked into
it. It is a round tower and the steps
follow the circular curve all the way to the top. It is much wider than most towers and had
slits along the way so that it was not dark and the steps were wide enough that
you could pass those on their way down with just a little bit of caution, but
the one to the inside of the circle would have a tiny place in which to place their
feet. For the most part you prayed that
no one was on their way down as you were ascending. Just when I thought my lungs would explode
and my legs would give out we came to a landing with a large room off of the
staircase. I have never been so thankful
for a place to rest and catch my breath.
I believe there were three such much need landing places along the
upward spiral. Each room was interesting
with maps and various articles of interest to look at while catching one’s
breath. I think the most interesting
article was William Wallace’s sword. It
was so massive I could hardly believe anyone could use it in a fight. It was about 6 feet long and looked like it
weighed a ton. Wallace must have been a
large and imposing figure himself to wield such a sword.
We finally took our last step and broke through to the top
of the tower. For all the discomfort I
had endured it was more the worth the effort.
The view was amazing and the heights were dizzying. I laughed at how low the lip was around the
top of the tower. There is no way you
could be on top of such a structure in the U.S. with such a short wall between
you and certain death. As I caught my
breath I could see in the top of the short wall was a relief map of the
surrounding countryside. Everything was
marked so you could see where all the geographical features were. Also along with the geography was a short
narrative of what had happened at each location. You could look down and see where the English
troops had been forced to go single file and see where the Scots had waited for
them. You could see off into the
distance to Bannockburn and Stirling.
The castle at Stirling was visible and beautiful up on its own
hill. The rolling fields and the rivers
came to life as you read what had happened in each place. It was awe inspiring.
And then I stopped and took in the tower itself. With magnificent arches and intricate stonework
it was a masterpiece that had been set on hill for all to see. Not only did it point to a past with pride
but it stood in a place of honor and pointed to one that it felt was worthy of
being remembered. There you forgot the
defeats the Scots had suffered and only thought of what they had
accomplished. Never had the English
suffered such a loss and never would the Scots win such a victory as they had
on this battlefield.
I am telling you all of this because I want to use this
tower as a picture of the Stronghold that Jesus wants to be in our lives. A strong and mighty tower that David refers
to in the Psalms. A place of refuge and
strength. A mighty fortress, a place of
safety and refreshing and a place where we can look out over all the Lord has
done in our life and offer Him praise and thanksgiving.
Our tower is not to be built by hands, but by the Holy
Spirit. The foundation is to be on the
rock so that it can withstand all forms of adversity. Our cornerstone is Jesus and what He did for
us on the cross. Our sins forgiven and
the ransom paid for our souls. The
stones that go into the building of our tower are the redeemed acts in our
lives, where we allow Holy Spirit to take our hurts, our pains, our sorrows and
turn them into healing and wellness and joy.
The sins we have committed and have been forgiven are taken from rubble
and turned into victory and shown as part of the story of our life. And those things that have been done against
us by the enemy are cleaned and polished into gemstones that reflect God’s love
for us. And all of this is held together
by the mortar of love. And not just any
love, but pure agape love...
This picture is very different from the tower that we walked
to in Ireland. On the Galway Bay there
is a tiny village called Bell Harbor. We
were fortunate enough to rent a holiday home here for a week. At Daly’s we became fast friends with many of
the locals. They were exactly what you
would expect from a small rural Irish town.
They loved to talk and tell stories and crack jokes and they were very
proud of their piece of Ireland. One of the couples we met invited us over to
go see the watch tower, built there as a lookout hundreds of years ago, that
was on the Bay behind their home.
We stopped by one afternoon and went on a lovely walk, over
fences and through cow pastures to the tower.
From the direction we approached it looked like it was in pretty good
shape for such an ancient structure. But
as we got closer we could see where massive chunks had fallen and crashed to
the ground. Ivy was growing in several
areas and in some of the areas it seemed to be the only thing holding the giant
stones together. As we walked around to
the other side we could see that it was in complete ruins. Returning to the first side and looking up I
could see what must have been a magnificent structure with arches and floors
and windows but now was only a shadow of what had been.
This tower reminds me of what our towers look like when we
either try to build it for ourselves or let the enemy do it. I was cautious of getting too close to the
structure as there were giant stones that looked like they could come tumbling
down at any moment. There was no
protection from the weather and it certainly could not be used as either a
watchtower or place of sanctuary any more.
This tower pictures us trying desperately to build up walls
around us to keep us safe only to have the walls crumble or even come crashing
down on our heads. Built on shifting
sand and not the Rock, piling up our hurts and sins to hide behind. Built because of fear and held together by
the lies the enemy tells us. We may
whitewash the outside or even paint beautiful pictures on the uneven surfaces
to try and disguise the true appearance
but this tower will never provide the safety and security that we are looking
for.
Hopefully you can picture these two very different towers in
your mind as we explore what is and what is not meant to be our place of
refuge. A mighty tower not built by
hands but built by our loving Father for our own good. A secret place where we are in the presence
of the King of the Universe and have been called to be there as the Beloved.
Let’s learn how to run to the tower that Jesus is for us…to
run in and experience joy and safety in the presence of our King. A place where fear and lies have no
place. A place where our happiness and
satisfaction come from the only true source of either, a deep and satisfying
relationship with God the Father that was planned before the beginning of the
world. After all, it is for freedom that we have been set free. (Galatians 5:1a)
