Psalm 27:2-3 (Fortitude)
“When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall. Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident” (Psalm 27:2–3).
It takes an incredible amount of fortitude to stand in the face of danger and remain calm. Spiritual warfare is all around us. We cannot hide from it or act as if it does not exist. Rather, we must endure the enemy’s schemes by trusting the Lord to fight our battles instead.
Noah Webster defines fortitude as “that strength or firmness of mind or soul which enables a person to encounter danger with coolness and courage, or to bear pain or adversity without murmuring, depression or despondency. Fortitude is the basis or source of genuine courage or intrepidity (i.e. fearlessness) in danger, of patience in suffering, of forbearance under injuries, and of magnanimity in all conditions of life.”
In other words, fortitude is what separates adulthood from adolescence. It testifies to the faith foundation we have built our lives upon (or lack thereof) and proves whether we take matters into our own hands amid trials or relinquish full control to God.
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).
The real question is to what depth and breadth is our foundation of faith secure?
FIRMLY PLANTED:
Similar to a tree planted by streams of water, how deep are our roots of faith entrenched? Are they anchored well enough so when the winds of adversity blow fiercely, we will not fall? Do they stretch outward toward the wellspring of God’s Word so we receive the nourishment we need to grow and flourish?
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit” (Jeremiah 17:7–8).
It is convicting to consider how spiritually parched and barren we are on a daily basis. In recent years, relative truth has permeated the Christian church and drawn many people away from the absolute truth of Scripture. What is even more troubling is how easily Christians have been lulled to sleep by the enemy and succumbed to the allure of false teaching.
In many ways, our roots are shallow because we spend little to no time with God reading His Word, discerning its meaning, applying what it teaches, and surrendering our hearts to prayer without ceasing. We have supplanted ourselves from the river of life and chosen to inhabit a desert on the false assurance of an oasis just over the horizon. To compound the situation, we fail to recognize our own depravity because we have surrounded ourselves with like-minded individuals who are shallow in faith.
What we need is true, unfiltered accountability to change our ways, and that begins with leaning on those who love us enough to say what we need to hear. For when we surround ourselves with those who fear the Lord and submit to His sovereignty, we are drawn closer to the presence of God by biblical accountability and sanctified as a result.
“Faithful are the wounds of a friend; profuse are the kisses of an enemy” (Proverbs 27:6).
SELF-PREACHING:
King David was not naïve. He knew that trials and adversity would come his way, so he trained his mind to expect an attack from the enemy rather than wishing it would pass him by. Many of us would classify that as risk management or preparing for a “worst case” scenario, but David looked at it from a perspective of physical preparedness and spiritual readiness.
He understood the threat of enemies encamped all around, ready to strike him dead and revel in his defeat. David was a warrior who fought for the Lord on countless occasions. His enemies were numerous, yet he did not overly concern himself with battles still to be fought. He knew he was safe as long as he held firm to his commitment to serve the Lord, so he never wavered trusting God’s Word.
“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake” (Psalm 23:1–3).
Psalm 23 is a prime example of the self-preaching David frequently wrote about throughout the Psalms which affirmed God’s faithfulness. They are powerful reminders for us that the Lord goes before us and brings peace to our troubled souls. Therefore, we need not fear the terror of the night nor the arrow that flies by day (Psalm 91:5), because He is our refuge and strength.
We can rest confident that He who began a good work within us will ensure our needs are met according to His sovereign will. That level of assurance is powerful. Not only does it bring comfort to our hearts and healing to our souls, but it calms our minds from worrying about enemies who seek to destroy us.
PERSONAL TESTIMONY:
Persecution is real. Recently, I was verbally attacked by an extended family member and his partner. Via text, they confronted me on separate occasions and labeled my family as unloving, non-inclusive, and hateful for disagreeing with their position on homosexuality and not endorsing their union as holy and righteous in the eyes of God. Completely unprovoked, they went out of their way to hurl insults and brand my wife and I as hateful people who raise hateful children as well.
What is ironic is that neither I, my wife, or our daughters have spoken a word of judgment to them for their lifestyle choice. We have rarely seen or spoken to them over the past two decades, so interaction has been limited. Moreover, homosexuality is never discussed because we agreed to disagree on the issue long ago. Nevertheless, they felt compelled to give us a piece of their mind because we continue to endorse Scripture’s position that homosexuality is a sin (see Lev. 18:22, Lev. 20:13, 1 Cor. 6:9-11, Rom. 1:26-28, Jude 1:7, 1 Tim. 1:10).
I was certainly caught off guard by their unwarranted assault. Anger tempted me to react and defend my family, but I decided not to engage in a war of words but pray that God would wash the wisdom of John 15:18-21 over my heart. In the end, I chose to let God fight my battles because the hatred displayed toward me and my family was merely a reflection of their rebellion against Him and His Word, not us.
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me” (John 15:18–21).
COURAGE UNDER FIRE:
Keep in mind, being persecuted for standing on the absolute truth of God’s Word is not a BURDEN but a PRIVILEGE. We are never closer to the heart of God than when we endure persecution because we endorse the inerrancy and supremacy of holy Scripture. Therefore, we can rest securely when the storms of persecution come upon us, because Jesus endured the cross of Calvary so we could take up our cross and follow Him.
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, ‘The righteous shall live by faith’” (Romans 1:16–17).
That does not mean we are immune to the physical and emotional impact of persecution, but we hold firm to what God’s Word teaches. Our hearts are emboldened for Christ the more we are attacked for defending His Word. Today’s culture is hostile toward the Gospel of salvation. As a result, our faith is always under fire when we make Scripture our sole authority of absolute truth.
Our world is not fond of black and white. Grey is far more flexible and applicable to our culture because it can be manipulated to justify sinful behavior. However, the more we water down Scripture and blur the boundaries of morality to justify sin as righteous, the more we act as if we are ashamed of the Son of God who saved our souls and gave us new life.
“Drugs, therapy, entertainment – they’re all used to silence a guilty conscience. But for the Christian, the conscience is the key to freedom.”
We are only fooling ourselves if we minimize God’s Word. We are also doing the most unloving thing possible by not warning others of the dangers which lie ahead if they remain on their destructive path of debauchery. Silence is not an option. Therefore, we are wise to repent of our flippant attitude toward God’s Word because we are either saved or condemned by what it clearly teaches.
“I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned” (Matthew 12:36–37).
BOTTOM-LINE:
If we are bold enough to proclaim God’s Word is absolute truth, persecution is bound to come our way. The world in which we live is hostile toward morality and will stop at nothing to discredit Christians who believe the Bible is God’s supreme standard of righteousness. That is why we must remain confident in the Lord’s provision to protect us in the face of adversity.
The beauty of allowing the Lord to fight our battles is that we do not need to avenge ourselves when others seek to do us harm. Rather, we can respond calmly instead of reacting in anger, and trust “that He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).
The Lord is fully capable of fighting our battles. Therefore, we need not be concerned about seeking retribution against our oppressors. Rather, we must go the extra mile and love our enemies as the Lord instructs. In the end, Christ is glorified when we count our trials as joy (James 1:2) and consider seasons of persecution as opportunities to grow our faith and trust God’s sovereignty.
“Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ To the contrary, ‘if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:19–21).
