Our Strong Fortress
“The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knows those who trust in Him.” Nahum 1:7
At the time the text was written Nineveh had slid back into a sinful stage. They had once more become a threat to God’s people therein. Nahum wrote of the forthcoming wrath against the proud people of the Assyrian empire. Parenthetically, this is evidence God does judge nations.
Nahum also wrote of God’s love for and protection of His people. Nahum wrote to console God’s people by Him sparing them this wrath. Under those conditions he penned Nahum 1:7 likening Himself to a fortress for them.
I saw a more recent graphic of this. Traveling in the Jordan desert we stopped at a tiny fortress not more than 100 by 100 feet. Its formidable walls were approximately two feet thick.
When Sir Lawrence of Arabia was battling the Muslims in the region he was often outmanned and outgunned. Under those conditions he retreated into the fort. When he did, the strength of the fortress became the strength of Sir Lawrence. Therein he was safe. In Christ, His strength becomes our strength.
Now to apply this text personally. First, note the Lord is good. It is His nature, He can’t be any other way. It is just Him. That does not mean He exempts His people from all problems and never disciplines them when they are disobedient. This does not mean He is not jealous of His justice.
Nahum opened his prophecy by announcing that the Lord is a jealous God, Who takes vengeance on His enemies and is fierce in His anger. The Lord is slow to anger, but He is great in power and will never leave the guilty unpunished.
Then in dramatic contrast comes, “The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knows those who take refuge in Him.”
Believers must never forget their Stronghold and take refuge in Him in times of trouble. This is possible because Christ took our sin on the cross and spared us God’s wrath.
Believers need to store away images of this truth and apply them in the experiences of daily life. Know that when you take refuge in Him His strength becomes your strength. Memorize Nahum 1:7 and apply it.
A New You
The basis of hypnosis is confidence in the person doing the hypnosis. It does not need to be a professional or an intended act. I have been hypnotized.
In the third grade I was in love with my teacher Miss Jones. To me she was “Miss Wonderful.” One day she passed my desk and put her hand on my shoulder and said, “Nelson you are a good little boy, but you just don’t have any self-confidence.” Bingo! From that day on I could not have self-confidence or I would have made Miss Jones wrong, actually a liar.
Years lapsed and one day crossing a street in Kentwood, Louisiana I stepped on the curb, looked up and prayed: “Dear God, Miss Jones was wonderful as I thought, but she was wrong. You made me and you ‘don’t make no junk.’ From this day on, because of my confidence in you I can have self-confidence.” Free at last!
That was a transformative moment.
In light of that, have you ever been hypnotized? You need not be. Feast on this smorgasbord of Scripture.
“…our sufficiency is from God.” (II Corinthians 3:5)
“For we are his workmanship….” (Ephesians 2:10)
“I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well.” (Psalm 139:14 ESV)
“Examine yourselves whether you are in the faith. Prove yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? – unless you are disqualified.” [That last phrase refers to not being a Christian.] (II Corinthians 13:5)
“His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature….” (II Peter 1:3, 4)
Begin now “To put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:22 – 24)
If you have been living under a hypnotic spell unknowingly cast on you by someone you trusted, let this be your moment in which that spell is broken, “put on the new self” today. Pause now and pray through this matter. Then enjoy casting a new self-image.
Fear Nots That Untie Fear Knots
You are involved in a process. That is a word often associated with athletics, but it deserves to be in the vocabulary of the faith community. It involves a series of well designed activities intended to achieve a well defined goal. What the Lord is doing in your life is trying to lead you in a process resulting in a productive life called “abundant life,” consummating in eternal life. He wants to enable you to achieve all He has created you with the ability to be.
The development of faith is a process. If you don’t go through the process to get it, you don’t have the strength to keep it. Don’t let the past or the future control your present. The present is a process you are going through to get to where God wants you.
Consider the experience of Israel and how His commitment to them relates to us. They had been slaves for 70 years when He shared two “nots” with them that are also applicable to us.
The first not is FEAR NOT. (Isaiah 41:10)
Studies show 90 percent of our fears are without legitimate basis. The devil uses fear to keep us in bondage. Fear not, why not! “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. (Titus 1:7)
Therefore, “Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in the Lord.” (Psalm 56:3)
So we may boldly say: ‘The Lord is my helper I will not fear.’” (Hebrews 13:6)
The second not is BE NOT DISMAYED.
The word dismayed means to develop a defeatist attitude, a hopeless outlook, a sour disposition, a joyless spirit. Bottom line: don’t give up.
This takes courage. Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes it is simply a quiet voice that says, “I will try again tomorrow.”
The text presents two “I ams.”
First, “I am with you.” We need to be able to focus on the line from Psalm 23, “Thou art with me….” Ringing in your ear more clearly that the blasphemy of the crowd should be the words of your Beloved: “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” That is the reason we should not fear.
Second, “I am your God.” The word used in the text for God is “Elah” or “Eloah.” “El” means the strong one. Elah speaks of durability. It carries the idea of faithfulness. He is faithful.
Don’t let success go to your head or failure to your heart. Sometimes you may think you are being rejected by God, when you are simply being redirected by God.With your hand still on the doorknob of the unknown you can enter it with boldness because of the infinite resources of your faithful God.
Our Prophet, Priest, and King
Many churches are described as H. R. Niebuhr famously said of liberalism regarding proclaim and worship “a God without wrath who brought men without sin into a kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a cross.”
That is quite a contrast with the 1689 London Baptist Confession which states: “Christ, and Christ alone, is fitted to be mediator between God and man. He is the prophet, priest and king of the church of God.”
Consider His roles as aligned with what many psychiatrists consider our three fold nature as: intellect, emotions, and will from a Biblical perspective.
INTELLECT – Our “understanding is darkened” (Ephesians 4:18)
EMOTIONS – Most are “unhappy” (Romans 7:24)
WILL – Our will is bent toward evil. (John 3:19)
In the Old Testament there was a threefold theocratic anointing:
Prophet, Priest, and King.
Our concept of Christ in these roles is traceable all the way back to the fourth-century writer Eusebius of Caesarea, who found it helpful to think about Christ as a Prophet, Priest, and King.
As prophet He represents God to man, enlightening our intellect.
As priest He represents man to God having come to remove our guilt and inspire our feelings.
As King to rule and guide us on our life’s journey. The basis of kingdom loyalty is confidence in and love for the King. When we fully acknowledge we are kingdom citizens, it is logical our primary allegiance is to the King.
He illumines our intellect, stimulates our emotions, and controls our will.
Affirm Him as your Prophet to teach you; your Priest to sacrifice for, intercede for, and bless you; and your King to rule and guide you.
After a stunning performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, the renowned Italian conductor Arturo Toscanini is said to have leaned forward and said to the orchestra: “I am nothing. You are nothing. Beethoven is everything.” If Toscanini could say that about a brilliant but dead composer, how much more should Christians say that about the living Savior who is our Prophet, Priest, and King.
Are You a Seeker?
Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness….” (Matthew 6:33)
Thus, He set the table for contentment and productivity. To fail in this conquest is to crucify one’s self between two thieves:
The regrets of YESTERDAY and the worries of TOMORROW.
Jesus’ call is a call to prioritize your life. To do this is to put first things first. If you were to make a list of the ten most important things in your life, where would Jesus rank? That is a gut punch for some, He doesn’t. If He were to become number one in your life what changes would He enable you to make in the other nine?
The verb Jesus used, “seek,” means being absorbed in the search for, that is, making a persevering effort to obtain. Literally, “Be constantly seeking….” A visual is offered: “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before you, looking to Jesus….” (Hebrews 12:1, 2)
Looking translates the word “Ap-Horan.” “Ap” means “from” or “away from.” “Horan,” means “to look.” Thus, we are to look away from those things that detract us, and deliberately look to Jesus.
Two big obstacles to kingdom citizenship are:
* Avarice, which is greed. Jesus forbids it because it is foolish to lay up treasures beyond logic. Things don’t satisfy.
* Anxiety is forbidden because it does no good for us emotionally, physically, and spiritually.
A kingdom citizen believes in the King of whom it is said: “My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
Give Him the first part of every day. In a quiet time early in the morning set your mindset for the day.
Give Him the first choice in every decision. To do anything else is to rob yourself of His intended best for you.
Give Him the first day of the week. Public worship rejuvenates you spiritually and renews you physically.
Give Him the first tenth of every dollar. It is intended as a discipline enabling you to evidence your devotion.
In his book, “Resilience,” New York Psychiatrist Fredrick Flach wrote, “Keeping the faith is the most vital ingredient of the resilience we need to cope with crisis.”
In the first part of every day, refresh your faith. You will be better equipped by the King to cope.