Strongholds of Life

Strongholds of Life

By Lanell Stuart

        My daughter was telling me about a house she bought (to resell). There were two fences side by side that held underbrush and trees of all kinds. As the man she hired began to clear the underbrush, he found that they had a stronghold on the fence, in the ground and surrounding area.

     We can find ourselves in strongholds of our life; a place where something annoys us to the point of distraction. There are many strongholds in our life that are negative. Those things that keep us captive from knowing God’s will for our life. Those things that keep us from being happy; that keep us from having a fulfilling life; that rob us of God’s best for us. We can take a curve in the road that leads us to distraction.

       We can drive ourselves into physical disabilities just by becoming too busy. We try to accomplish what God should be doing in our lives. Then life becomes so difficult to live that we give up in despair. Doubts can creep into our thoughts about how capable we are. Then we turn to God as a last resort.

      We may go through perilous times and our journey will be difficult but in the end God’s plan will be fulfilled. I would like to bring to your attention that our strengths can bring us to fulfill our lives for God’s glory. No matter what circumstances we find ourselves, we can be sure God has a plan for our lives. 

       We can turn to a friend and discover she or he is in more dire circumstances than we are. We finally come to the conclusion that we too, can overcome the circumstances of life when others are seeking their strength in the Lord.

      No one had more reason to complain to God about his circumstances than David, being anointed king by Samuel, God’s spokesman. Yet, King Saul would not relinquish his throne to the better and chosen one of God. Saul pursued David many years.

      Our own thoughts can make us strong or defeat us. Turning to the scriptures we see David saying, “…when my enemies and my foes attack me they will stumble and fall.” Verse three: “though an army besiege me my heart will not fear.” Verse one: “the Lord is my light and my salvation.”

     I can relate to these circumstances because my own health having failed me the past year. I see now that there are more dire circumstances others face. I am not feeling as sorry for myself as I once did. I am increasingly turning to friends to help me. Prayer is helping see me through some bad times.

     There is no answer to why God chooses to heal some and not others. But we must try to depend on God through every circumstance we face. Otherwise we would lose hope. Even when we face the New Year our hope is to lean more on the Lord today than we did yesterday. (Psalm 27:1-3 “The Lord is the stronghold of my life of whom shall I be afraid?”)