“Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.”

(1 Corinthians 16:13 NIV)

In French “be strong” is translated with “fortifiez-vous”.
Wow! What a picture this paints! Fortify yourselves! Do you see the root word FORT here? The English word “fort” comes from the Latin word “fortis”, meaning “strong” and has become the foundation for words relating to strength, defence and protection, e.g. fort, fortress and fortitude. How inspiring that I recognise the Latin root in this French translation today! I need this picture, which paints a thousand words, this week!

So what is a fort exactly? A fort is a military building designed for defence from attack, consisting of an area surrounded by a strong wall, in which soldiers are based: (adapted from the Cambridge definition)

We are under attack. Some days more than others. The battles we fight are not against people, but spiritual battles. “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the authorities, against the powers of the dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12 NIV)

 “For though we walk in the flesh, we are not carrying on our warfare according to the flesh and using mere human weapons” (2 Corinthians 10:3 AMP). How are we strengthening ourselves against spiritual attack? Have we checked our “city walls”? Are they manned and protected, or are we leaving the gates open? Do we even have “city walls”? Let’s start with that! How do we build a fortified wall around our ‘city”?

Jesus said, “For everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words and does them, I will show you what he is like: He is like a man building a house, who dug and went down deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood arose, the torrent broke against that house and could not shake or move it, because it had been securely built or founded on a rock” (Luke 6:47-48).

 God told Jeremiah, “For I, behold, have made you this day a fortified city…[giving you divine strength which no hostile power can overcome]” (Jeremiah 1:18 AMP).

He’s saying the same thing to us today. It’s time to put a stop to the enemy sneaking into our lives. Renewal of the mind and taking thoughts capture, which are making us weak, plays a large role in getting rid of the enemy, enabling us to stand strong. Let’s throw the enemy out of the city for good! Be vigilant and keep watch, so that we’re not surprised by an attack when we’re tired and weak or when a gate is opened for whatever reason. Gates do that. They open and close. In those moments however, we need to be extra careful.

“The enemy only needs the tiniest crack. A sliver of opportunity. The smallest window of doubt or uncertainty. Just like that, the Devil is sitting at your table, beginning to win the battle for your mind.” Says Louie Giglio in ‘Don’t give the enemy a seat at your table’.

What are the rocks we can use to build the foundation for our fortified city wall? The Lord gives us the building instructions, the blueprint, so to speak. “… Everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words and does them.” How do we do that? By studying His word, and obediently applying the teachings to our daily lives. By communicating with the Lord, through regular and sincere prayer and by connecting to a community of faith, to receive support and encouragement.

While we build our foundation with these rocks, we need to recognise our dependence on God (on His blue print) and in humility and obedience renew our minds and adjust our ways. Serving others and standing on the promises of His word, creates a good alignment while building. Spreading love, hope and growing in faith, mixed together, makes for a good cement to fortify our foundations.

How clear is this encouragement now! We do not have to be strong on our own! Strength is not a one man capacity, but it’s a defence strategy. It’s about following the orders of the Man in command, given to save us!

by Lynette Gerber-Lochenkov