Fears and Fortresses

Intro - How have you been handling these times? I bought 84 rolls of toilet paper one night when I couldn’t sleep...

Present Fear

Fear is formidable to the vulnerable

Fear gets its power from the perception that you are vulnerable…that your susceptible to harm!

This passage uncovers various areas that strike fear in us, let’s discuss 4 areas it brings up.

The first aspect of fear that we see here is that you need to be afraid of the unexpected....the snare of the fowler.

These are traps that can’t be perceived to the untrained eye. Many times they might even be situations in which you thought you were safe only to find out that it was a trick.

What can you, you have tried all that you can, have moved forward cautiously, mindfully, only to be caught in a trap!

The second aspect of fear that we see is that it is unpreventable…like the pestilence that spreads without any effort of your own.

What can you do? The very nature you have to be social and around others now is destructive. Not only does it concern you but it can impact your loved ones!

The third aspect of fear is that it is unknown…there are things out there that you don’t even KNOW to fear!

How the heck do you deal with that? In the night something stalks you and you can’t see it…out of the clear sky an arrow drops and strikes you down.

The last aspect of fear we learn is that it is unrelenting…it has consumed so many, why should you think you’re any different?

THOUSANDS have died, have fallen, have failed, have tried their best just to succumb to fear....why do you think it’s going to spare you?

The reality is you’re afraid because you’re vulnerable…vulnerable to the unexpected, the unpreventable, the unknown and the unrelenting.

And you should be! Do you think you’re strong enough, can prepare enough, can practice enough social distancing, enough hoarding or can block it out with enough distractions, enough dismissals of truth????

TR: Fear will grip you depending on what your present fortress is...

Present Fortress

Your vulnerability is determined by what your fortress is.

If you were walking in the woods and happened to see a grizzly bear running toward you would you be afraid? Why? Because you’re vulnerable. Now if you were in that same situation but were sitting comfortably in a tank, would you be less afraid? Why? Because you’re in a better fortress.

Our fortress is powerful…it dwarfs our problems and our fears…we dwell in the shadow of the Almighty

Many of us seek out areas of refuge and refuge alone. A refuge is a place we can run and hide. But getting a good hiding place isn’t going to eradicate fear.

You still know if it’s out there and finds you you’re going to be in trouble. The term here for “shelter” is “hiding” or covering.

God is not only a refuge but a fortress. He not only provides a place to hide but a place that can’t be penetrated.

“my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust”

In addition to that God casts a large shadow, enough to cover you from harm or danger.

Psalm 91:2 ESV

I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

Our fortress is perceptive…it delivers from that which is unpreventable

Our fortress is perceptive…it delivers from that which is unpreventable

God as our fortress is perceptive and able to anticipate the unexpected and the unknown.

Yes the snare of the fowler may come and yes the pestilence may stalk in the darkness but our fortress…our God IS light. Nothing is hidden from His sight.

He’s alpha and omega....nothing catches Him by surprise. Abide in Him and even if you’re caught off guard…He never sleeps or slumbers but is ever viligant to deliver.

Our fortress is protective....it covers you during times of need

A loving depiction of our Father covering us, as a hen does her children.

An amazing depiction that God’s faithfulness in doing so is a shield and a fortress wall, that cannot be overcome.

He won’t fail to protect…His faithfulness is a defense.

Our fortress is preserving....it keeps us in place where others may fall.

God is partial to His children. There are things that we can experience when we abide with the Lord that others won’t understand.

What would cause them to perish will cause us to praise.

But the reason you would succumb to present fear is because the present place you’re abiding isn’t sufficient…you know its weak, conditional, or temporary.

Your fortress is 401k, employment, health, your works or the works of others. But now we see that those have failed and in some ways I praise God for tearing down those strongholds of security AND isolating us so we can think about it...

TR: What makes the fortress secure, the refuge effective and the shelter safe is that they are not determined by anything on this present earth but rather in a present Father...

Present Father

The Father is not just my refuge and my fortress, He’s my dwelling!

I LIVE with my DAD! Period.

My children will never have to worry about hunger or danger as long as they abide with me. There is no present danger that’s going to outlast their PRESENT FATHER!!!

Our Heavenly Father protects and provides…not just sustenance but distance from all that would harm you.

No plague will come NEAR your tent v. 7

How? He will command his angels…to guard you in ALL your ways.

The reality is the seemingly uncontrolled and in many ways unprofitable calamity and suffering that impacts everyone else is in general reserved for the wicked.

The Psalmist says this is “recompense” in general…more on this in a minute.

There is a wisdom and security in obedience to the Lord that in general prevents tragedy.

The very things that would harm you you’ll either transcend or trample.

The stone that’d trip you up you’ll transcend and the ferocity of lions and serpents you will trample underfoot.

WHY? Because we hold fast to our present father in love and we KNOW HIS NAME!

There is an intimate knowledge of who God is! It’s more than an awareness but a familiarity with the Father.

Psalm 91:15 ESV

When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.

“when he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble”

Trouble? What trouble? This whole time he’s been talking about how He keeps me from trouble.

Here’s the truth I was aluding to earlier…God is your refuge and your fortress but He is NOT a means to an end.

Story of speaking with Malachi about honoring and fearing me as his dad.

HE IS OUR TREASURE....NOT THE SECURITY THAT HE PROVIDES!!!

What ends up happening is we try to really serve our god of comfort and try to use the God of Heaven as a vehicle to get us there…and when He doesn’t we abandon Him and turn to other things to get us there.

And now so many of us are either panicked and trying to fix things through our own strength to get back to comfort

Or we are dismissive of all restrictions to the detriment of others just so that we can cling to normalcy which makes us feel comfortable.

The idea of being uncomfortable, even for a moment, for someone else’s sake is unfathomable to us which tells many of us are serving a different God than the one that embraced suffering…even to the point of death on a cross.

But let’s think about who we serve, Jesus who came TO SUFFER. But His suffering wasn’t whimsical and more importantly He wasn’t crushed by those troubles...

So, YES even when adversity or trouble comes, the Father being with me…knowing WHO He is and WHAT He can provide if He chooses to is sufficient for me.

He will rescue me and honor me. Beyond all of that I will be satisfied in the Father and I will behold His salvation.

Jesus asked for the Father to let the cup pass from Him of suffering…He didn’t rely on Peter defending Him or even in His own strength to stop it but fully committed Himself to the will of the Father.

For some that is terrifying....because they DON’T KNOW GOD!

For others who don’t know the name of the Father, who don’t know Him intimately, you are going to be overwhelmed with fear, if not now possibly here soon because THIS IS IS ALL YOU HAVE....THIS WORLD IS YOUR HEAVEN...

But believers…we have a Father who satisfies, not only in this life but in the life to come and He is with us, near to us in trouble and turmoil.

This life will come and go one way or another…don’t cling to it as though it is glory…instead steward it as a gift.

We have a Father that didn’t forsake His own son but resurrected Him proving that He does preserve and honor those who abide in Him.

He dwelt in peace even while experiencing the worst this world had to throw at Him because He dwelt with the Father.

Family although there is a present fear....we have a present fortress that is sure and more than sufficient since it resides within our present Father…abide in Him