Become My Fortress
Okay, bear with me on this rabbit trail of my thoughts on this verse. It may seem like a tangent, but it is something I feel I should share. God has been teaching me a lot about processes. I’ve discovered that I don’t really like processes. Sometimes I get frustrated with myself because I feel like it takes me forever to learn/do things. For example, I want to have more faith and do more that involves faith. I want to have more joy, peace, and purpose in my life. I want spend more time being creative. I want… the list goes on. But, God keeps reminding me that a lot of these things don’t happen overnight. I mean, God could do something miraculous and bring these things I desire to pass in a blink of an eye, He can do anything, but sometimes He doesn’t work that way.
But, I’m learning that God is okay with the process. Even when I am not. I want to get to the finish line, or the destination as fast as I can because I think that is what I need or want. God sometimes takes the scenic route in my life and I’m learning to be okay with that. I’m finding that those desires I have are being met more and more in God Himself in the midst of the process or in-between times. You know, during those times where you feel like nothing much is going on and you are just going through the normal day to day life. But, God is actively working and teaching me little lessons and helping me to be faithful with the little things. Gradually, when He knows I’m ready, I’ll graduate to other things. He is refining my character and teaching me more about who He is and who I am. But, I can easily miss these lessons if I’m trying to bulldoze (is that even a verb?!) on to the next thing in my life, whether that be the next season, next week, or just past this problem that I’ve been having with this situation or this person. I overlook those lessons or opportunities to grow because I’m impatient.
God has been so gracious to me in this area of my life, He reminds me that He is in the process. When He created the world, He could have made it in a single day, but He didn’t. Spring may start in March according to the calendar, but it can be a process until you start to see the evidence of spring, of renewal. First, the days get longer, the ground is free of its blanket of snow and the temperatures rise. Then, you see wee buds on the trees and shrubs, and green spikes of daffodils and the first blooms of crocuses. The birds come flying back honking, quacking, and chirping from their winter retreats. Then, the fruit trees all push out their plentiful blossoms and the trees spring new leaves. But, this season doesn’t just change in a blink, it is a process. So why would our lives be any different? We go through seasons too, but it is important to learn the lessons in those seasons and see God’s faithfulness in all the little things.
“But the Lord has become my fortress, and my God the rock in whom I take refuge.” – Psalm 94:22. This verse is encouraging and cool in many ways, but what struck me was that word ‘become’. To me it sounds like the Psalmist lived through some circumstances where he had to rely on God. Perhaps the Psalmist tried to find his fortress in other things besides God and it didn’t work. Maybe he had to go through a process too, where God taught him that He alone is the fortress and refuge the Psalmist needs. I’m going through the process where God is becoming more and more of my fortress and refuge. Maybe you are too. God will be faithful friend, you just wait and see.
- Written By Danielle D.