A youth says to his favorite athlete, after hitting the game winning home run,
"You’re my hero."

A fireman comes out of a burning building carrying a child, and he is proclaimed a hero in the headlines of the morning newspaper.

A stranger rushes to the aid of a choking victim and performs the heimlich maneuver saving the persons life. He is congratulated for his act of heroism. If heroism is defined by acts of saving anothers life or providing a victory, then God should be seen as a hero. God saved us from sin and death, by sending His Son, Jesus to die on the cross.

If this isn’t reason enough to be indebted to God, the Psalmist gives us another,

"The Lord has become my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge."

How does God become someone’s stronghold or the rock of one’s refuge?

Faith in God, as a stronghold and as a rock, just doesn’t happen. You don’t wake up one morning and have a faith like this. Faith needs to be developed and nurtured. Faith can be compared to those vegetable plants which have been bearing fruit for the past 3/4 weeks. They are bearing fruit, because some months back, you prepared the ground and planted the seeds or young saplings. Since then, you have cared for the plants, watering them and nurturing them with plant food. The fruit has come not without a commitment of time and resources.

Faith is no different. You and I are not born with faith. Faith is a gift which God gives to us. It is a gift which needs to be nurtured with worship, sustained by prayer, and fed with God’s Word. For your faith to become like the Psalmist’s you must commit yourself to growing a faith in God. Then you can say,

"The Lord has become my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge."

This is not always easy. Like the Psalmist who witnessed: evil people prospering, people oppressing other people, corrupt governments, and the innocent suffering and being condemned. We too, can find similar conditions, situations where evil is called good.

We have ridiculed the absolute truth of God’s Word in the name of the moral pluralism.

We have worshipped other gods and called it multiculturalism.

We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle.

We have exploited the poor and called it a lottery.

We have neglected the needy and called it self-preservation.

We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.

In the name of choice we have killed our unborn.

In the name of right to life we have killed abortionists.

We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building esteem. We have abused power and called it political savvy.

We have coveted our neighbor’s possessions and called it taxes.

We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.

The question one might ask, in light of the world’s situation, how can we ever say,

"The Lord has become my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge?"

My question is, how can we afford not to?

I would rather be at the mercy of God, then at the mercy of this world.

"For the Lord will not forsake His people; He will not abandon His heritage; for justice will return to the righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it." (14,15)

"He will repay them for their iniquity and wipe them out for their wickedness; the Lord our God will wipe them out." (23)

The Psalmist gives us the assurance that God presides over the destinies of every human being. It doesn’t matter if the person is consciously aware of God or not. Awareness of God does not determine if God is real or not?

An atheist said to a Christian, "What happens if when you die you discover that you were wrong, that there is no God?"

The Christian answered, "If I am going to be wrong, I'd rather die believing in God and be wrong, then die not believing in God and be wrong."

Without faith in God, your life is flat, there is no heavenly or eternal dimension to life. You are born. You live. You die, end of story.

"The Lord has become my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge."

The Psalmist also assures us that the Lord is the God of knowledge.

"He who planted the ear, does He not hear? He who formed the eye, does
He not see? He who disciplines the nations, He who teaches knowledge
to humankind, does He not chastise? The Lord knows our thoughts." (9-11)

While some people deny the existence of God, others, acknowledge God exists but God is either ignorant or indifferent. They would compare God to a watchmaker. The watchmaker constructs the watch, winds it up, set the hands in motion and then walks away. They see God as Elijah saw the false god baal on Mt. Carmel. When baal did not answer the pleas of the people, Elijah said, "Maybe he is asleep, or on a journey."

If God was indifferent or ignorant, you and I could do whatever we like without fear of consequence. Remember the story of Rip Van Winkle. Rip was a drinker. He had a habit when he drank to say, "I won’t count this one." What was so intriguing about Rip Van Winkle was the satisfaction that if he didn’t count it, no one would. It doesn’t work that way with God.

God is all knowing. The very attributes of wisdom, knowledge, senses, emotions are ours, because, we are created in the image of the God.

Although it seems that the wicked and the proud seem to get ahead, don’t despair they will have their day. Their advantage is temporary, but their consequences are eternal. God does and will reward and punish in perfect justice.

"O Lord, you God of vengeance, You God of vengeance shine forth! Rise up, O judge of the earth; give to the proud what they deserve!" (1,2)

Regardless of how confusing life may seem. Regardless of what the messages of a secular society are, God is still in control. The Lord is the stronghold of life. The Lord is the rock of refuge.

As Paul wrote, "Look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen; for the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal."

In every situation, focus not as much on the situation, as you focus on the presence of God. Learn from Peter’s mistake. When he saw Jesus walking on the water toward them in the middle of the storm he said, "Is that you Lord." Jesus answered affirmatively. Immediately, Peter jumped out of the boat. Focusing on Jesus, he walked on the water toward him. Peter, then took his eyes off Jesus, and noticed the storm and he began to sink. While focusing on Jesus he was able to walk through the storm, when while focusing on the storm he wasn’t.

When the storms of life cast their shadow upon you, seek God out, welcome God into your heart, your mind, your life, then you will know that,

"The Lord has become my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge."

AMEN

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