1 Samuel 22:5–Then the prophet Gad said to David, “Do not remain in the stronghold; depart and go into the land of Judah.”
David is in hiding, running from Saul, the de-anointed king of Israel. David has already been anointed, but is being prevented to be crowned because of Saul’s jealousy. As we reach this verse in Samuel, we see that David is in Moab (Hmmm…Wow…think of where Naomi & Ruth were during the famine…that was for Anita & Bethanne!), hiding in a stronghold.
I like definitions, so here’s the definition of a stronghold:
-a place that has been fortified so as to protect it from attack
-a place where a cause or belief is strongly defended or upheld.
Let those sink in for now. Continuing with the story, David is told to go back to Judah, the very place where Saul is seeking to kill him. And in this instance he does, but in other instances, he remains in the stronghold.
I read the prophet’s words this morning and they’ve stuck with me ever since. I prayed specifically for God to reveal a stronghold in my life. And oh He has.
I feel like a big stronghold in my life is being comfortble. With friend group groups, roommate, schedule, etc. I tend to isolate myself. I say I’m spending more time with God and I am but I cannot get “spiritually fat” as my old pastor once said. I need to also be with the people, even as Jesus was, pouring out myself, as well as guarding my time with God, my refuge.
This coming semester is going to be crazy but it has such a potential to be crazy awesome for how God can use me. I’ve got a super busy schedule, but it’s split between being fed (I’ll partly be living in Provine from here on out, in Bible classes) and pouring out (other classes and a job in the writing center-where I’ll tutor students-which are all in Jennings, where I’ll also be living from here on out). I feel God already guiding me and preparing me for this busy schedule by giving me a busy schedule this semester, but also showing me that He is so very gracious to provide time to get everything done.
One of my major strongholds has been shaken this week–my rooming situation. I don’t have a roommate right now. And at first I was hurt & just didn’t understand what God was doing. But even just today, as I’ve left it in God’s hands (mostly because I didn’t know how to pray–thank God for Romans 8:26-27!), I’ve felt Him leading me to perhaps have an international student as a roommate. This is crazy out of my comfort zone, seemingly anyway, and yet my heart is wired for the world. Why wouldn’t God think this is a good idea?!
Well, that’s a lot of rambling. Oh my. Then God asks for more to say, as Pandora Radio (aka the best thing ever!) starts playing the CS Lewis Song by Brooke Fraiser. This is my prayer right now! The words I’ve been searching for.
