We had six inches of snow from what the Weather Channel referred to as Winter Storm Fern during the last week of January. It went eastward through the central states before turning north and heading up to New England. School was out for a week here, so we had our grandsons (8, 10 & 12) over a few times.
On one of those occasions, they built snowmen. Each boy built his own and the middle boy built a fortress around his in the likeness of the Alamo. Each snowman reflected the boys’ personalities, and they had fun building them.
Then warmer weather came and the snowmen began to melt a little bit each day. They all lasted longer than I thought they would but the one that lasted the longest had a fortress around him. My wife pointed that out to me. I’m fairly sure she knew that I wouldn’t be able to leave it alone and she was right.
The word “fortress” is used quite a bit in Scripture. It’s found 61 times and it’s used on a few occasions for a literal, military fortress. But most of the time it is used as a metaphor for God’s protection of His people. In Psalms, the book where the word occurs most, it is always used in this way. Here are a few samples:
- The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. (46:7)
- Truly He is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will never be shaken. (62:2)
- I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” (91:2)
- He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me. (144:2)
These passages are summed up well by Psalm 125:2. Here, the word “fortress” isn’t used, but the “mountains” he speaks of function as a fortress. “As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people both now and forevermore.” The quintessence of protection and security is to be surrounded by God!
If you’re building a snowman, a fortress might help it stay around a little longer (our sample size was obviously too small). If you’re building a life, having God as your fortress will lead to life everlasting!
Surround us Lord!
A Taste of Grace with Bruce Green 