A Mighty Fortress

"A mighty Fortress is our God,
A Bulwark never failing;
Our Helper He amid the flood
Of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe
Doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great,
And, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.

Did we in our own strength confide,
Our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side,
The Man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be?
Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth His Name,
From age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.

And though this world, with devils filled,
Should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed
His truth to triumph through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim,
We tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure,
For lo! his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him."

Friends, what a mighty fortress we have. I hope that you know Jesus. Because in my life, Jesus changed everything. Jesus saves me each and every day from hopelessness, from anxiety, from failure, depression, and selfishness. Jesus gives me peace despite whatever trials may occur during my day; Jesus is my rock and fortress.

You see friends, I thought I knew Jesus my whole life. And in many ways I did; I knew all about Him. I knew He loved me; I believed His promises. I went to church; I was a good Christian. But for so long, I didn't know that Jesus was my mighty fortress. I didn't know how much he cared about my life. I didn't know how much I could trust him for every need. So even though I knew Jesus, I was still basing my self worth on performance. Even though I knew Jesus, I still experienced anger at little things. Even though I knew Jesus, I was still afraid- afraid of failing, afraid of not being good enough. I was worried; I would compare myself to others and I didn't know the comfort that comes from truly knowing that He loves us.

And although I struggle at times- I think it will always be a constant struggle- today my life is so different. I have so much peace because of Jesus while doing things I am totally uncomfortable doing. I can literally be doing the thing I hate and laughing because I know Jesus and that He's working. 

And while I'm a nurse at the hospital, I see so many families struggling. So many precious children with parents who do drugs and who struggle to provide food. I see beautiful kids who have terrible diagnoses like cancer that are permanent. And I just want these kids and these families to know, that they have a Mighty Fortress to look too and to go too. That nothing in this life is going to bring you everlasting joy and peace, apart from knowing Christ. And I just want my patients to know that they are not alone. That whatever their fears are, whatever their pain is, Jesus sees; Jesus cares; and Jesus wants to save.

Jesus continuously saves my life and I feel like I have so much to testify about His love and faithfulness. And I just pray that if you don't know Jesus well, or if your struggling feeling alone, look to Jesus. Because He has the power and the will to deliver you and He wants to love you.