A Mighty Fortress

Ps 46:11 The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Friday I had one of those days. I took a tumble getting out of my car at work. I keep a golf umbrella tucked next to the driver’s seat in case of rain. I don’t know how it happened but it did. As I was getting out of the car my right foot got caught on the umbrella. My body twisted and I fell forward unto a very rough patch in the parking lot. I fell on all fours and my face hit the pavement. I skinned my hands, elbows and knees. The worst of it was the fact that my leg got twisted and when my foot finally released my leg shot forward and my right knee took the brunt of the fall. I was stunned. I immediately felt the pain. It took me a minute to get myself off the ground. I felt very foolish. I haven’t taken a tumble like that since I was a kid and here I am a grown man just shy of his 59 birthday falling on his face. I went inside the building where a couple of my co-workers helped clean me up and bandage me. I then got back in my car and headed home, all the while enduring my pain. When I got home I changed my clothes the best I could, sat on my recliner and elevated my legs and put a pack of ice on my right knee. The pain was getting worse and the throbbing began. Thankfully, my wife came home soon thereafter and got me some pain medication.
This ended up being a lost weekend. I didn’t move much because it was too painful to move. I went over the incident in my head again and again. How could I have been so clumsy? With all my driving around for the Ministries I end up getting out of that car 5-6 times a day and I’ve had the same set up for over 5 years. What was different about that day?
It’s Monday now and I am starting to heal. You can’t even see the scabs on my hands or my face. My right knee is still throbbing but I am not limping as much and am starting to get around better.
OK, so what’s the point? The point is that I lost my footing. I was not paying attention and I was on auto-pilot and something that I have done hundreds of times tripped me up because I wasn’t paying attention. Our walk with the Lord gets to be that way sometimes. We pray without listening, we read the Word without understanding and our lack of focus opens the way for the enemy to put that stumbling block in front of us to trip us up.
The Christian walk needs to be intentional. God is our fortress, but a fortress is only good when you are behind its walls and you are well supplied. We need to abide in Him. Abiding is more than hanging out in His presence; it is an intentional act of drawing our strength from Him. The Greek work “meno” is the word that is translated as abide or remain, depending on your translation. “Meno” is a primary verb; to stay (in a given place, state, relation or expectancy). A verb denotes action, and this particular verb depends on relationship. It also means to be present. During the recent Catalyst conference the theme was “Be Present”. Being present is more than just occupying a space. It means being available and making a difference.
Recently the movie Avatar did a good job of bringing this out when the greeting from one person to another was “I see you.” It wasn’t just visually seeing the other person, but being aware of whom they are, their needs as well as their strengths.
To abide or remain in the Lord is to intentionally draw strength from Him through a relationship so intimate that it fundamentally changes who we are. He is our Fortress. When we abide in Him we are safe. When we abide in Him our footing is sure. To abide in Him is to proactively be transformed as we are being renewed.

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