Bread for the Journey

My Fortress

The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

Psalm 18:2 ESV 

While David was out hiding in the wilderness, he wrote many beautiful Psalms that speak about his trust in God.  He uses the picture of a fortress in the desert to describe God's protection.

We recently had the privilege of touring the Holy Land and visiting Masada...a rock fortress near the Dead Sea and on the edge of the Judean wilderness. It was a natural hideout in the Old Testament and later King Herod the Great built an impenetrable fortress at the top.  Masada literally means fortress.  

We know that David sought shelter in a desert fortress while hiding from Saul and it is easy to picture him hiding in a place such as the Masada. But ultimately it was God who was his fortress and his strength! He mentions God being his fortress and his stronghold in several of the Psalms. God was David's Masada. Is He yours?  Do you look for protection in God or everywhere else?

Psalm 91:1-2 was a passage given to me when I was baptized at the age of sixteen and has been meaningful to me throughout my life. 

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
    who abides in the shadow of the Almighty,

will say to the Lord, 

'My refuge and my fortress,
    my God, in whom I trust.'

God is my Masada...my fortress in whom I trust!