God My Stronghold

Today we are on Psalm 43 of our Psalms for the Summer Devotionals.

You are God my stronghold… Send me your light and your faithful care, let them lead me.

- Psalm 43:2a,3

As I write this, I am sitting on the 29th floor of a downtown San Diego condominium gazing out at the countless sailboats, ships, and jet skis traversing the calm waters of the San Diego Bay. The Coronado Bridge rises majestically to my left and to my right, lies the naval base, equipped with its warships and military aircraft. Between the bridge to my left and the naval base to my right, serving as symbolic boundaries, the bay is filled with fun and frolic. I find peace in this.

Fun and frolic are an important part of life, but we also need boundaries to protect us, and within those boundaries, we need guidance and direction to keep our lives on its proper course. I, for one, appreciate boundaries, and while I stray outside of them at times, I do my best to live a fruitful life within them. The boundaries create safety and a sense of peace for me.

In Psalm 43, the psalmist reminds us that God is our stronghold. He establishes the boundaries around us, allowing us to freely live our lives in the space between. Within those boundaries, we live as we choose.

We make our choices, good and bad, each of which set the course for our lives. It may include some wonderful times of fun and frolic, but how we manage that also has ramifications and repercussions for us.

We can live selfishly and carefree, but then, danger always lurks. A loss of direction and focus finds sailboats, ships, and jet skis on a collision course with one another, risking injury and even death. But, when we open ourselves up to, as the Psalmist writes, “the light and faithful care of God,” He leads us and keeps us safe. As David writes in Psalm 27:1, “He is my light and my salvation.” And in Psalm 26:3, David declares, “For I have always been mindful of your unfailing love and have lived in reliance on your faithfulness.”

I desire to live a life that leans into God’s light, His unfailing love, and His faithfulness. They give me direction and purpose, providing a roadmap for my life. And when I seek to follow the light of God and surrender to His faithful care, then I can declare, as the psalmist does in verse 5, “I put my hope in God, for I will praise Him, my Savior and my God.” He is my stronghold.

Friends, I encourage you this week to look around you, recognize the boundaries that are set in place for you, both real and imaginary, and embrace them - not as restrictions, but as guardrails to protect you.

Within those boundaries, seek to live your life in such a way that you bring glory and honor to God, and you are a blessing to those around you.

Pastor Ken

‍