Security

Security

He who fears the Lord has a secure fortress, and for his children it will be a refuge.

Proverbs 14:26, NIV

Have your children ever made “forts” inside or outside your home? My kids have had forts at sleepovers made out of blankets duct-taped to tables and chairs. They have also built snow forts. Their largest project was a three-level tree fort in the backyard that took three summers to build.

A fort for our kids is a cozy place where they can play, but a fort or fortress in the military sense is much more substantial—it’s a place of strength and security. God tells us that when we respect and acknowledge him, he is our fortress. Because of God’s presence in our lives, the strength and security he provides can be experienced in any location.

Corrie ten Boom was a Dutch woman whose parents feared the Lord. During the Nazi invasion of Holland during World War II, Corrie’s family hid Jewish people in their home so those people wouldn’t be sent to the Nazi concentration camps. Sadly, Corrie and her family ended up in those very camps because of their help to the Jews. Corrie’s fortress—her refuge in God—was sometimes experienced in her father’s watch shop, sometimes on a cramped train ride, sometimes in the secret room of their home, and sometimes in the bunks of a concentration camp. Her fortress wasn’t a physical dwelling. Rather, it was the security of her relationship with God.

We often spend time and money on our actual dwelling places, which has some value. But how much more important it is that we teach our children to be in awe of God, who is our ultimate security and fortress in all of life—our refuge wherever we may be.

Father,

Thank you that the security we have in you doesn’t depend on where we are or where we live. Thank you that we carry it in our souls. Amen.