God is a fortress in the overwhelming flood

Lord of heaven and earth,

I confess that sometimes I fear the enemy is winning. I confess that I can easily think he is Your equal. Our accuser tempts me with lies, thinking that You are not all-powerful over the enemy and evil. He tempts me to disregard Your power over all, Your unchanging and steadfast love, Your solid and faithful hold on me, and the faith You’ve given me from salvation (justification) all the way to final glorification (Rom. 8:29-30).

For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him (Ps. 62:5 ESV).

Help me to sing and trust what Your Word says, to battle the lies of Your enemy, my enemy.

For still our ancient foe
doth seek to work us woe;
his craft and pow’r are great;
and armed with cruel hate,
on earth is not his equal.

(“A Mighty Fortress is Our God,” Luther, M., 1529, trans. 1852)

God alone is a fortress, my fortress

A mighty fortress is our God,
a bulwark never failing.

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.

And Who is that Word? 

He is Jesus Christ! Hallelujah!

We live and dwell “in Christ” as believers!

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it (Jn. 1:1-5 ESV, emphasis added).

In the overwhelming flood, Jesus is my refuge

The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD sits enthroned as king forever (Ps. 29:10 ESV).

Our Helper He amid the flood
of mortal ills prevailing.

Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah (Ps. 62:8 ESV).

O Lord, I sing songs of trust in You, a mighty fortress in my overwhelming flood

It is good to give thanks to the LORD,
to sing praises to your name, O Most High;
to declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night (Ps. 92:1-2 ESV). 

Father, I remember You have always been my fortress. I remember the songs of praise You’ve given me to sing of Your faithful love and protective power, amidst overwhelming floods.

This was Your “fortressing” preparation for floods of new suffering to come. What a gift, faithful and loving Lord of refuge and strength.

I remember. In suffering with serious and undiagnosed illness, with escalating symptoms and anxiety over how I could cope with overwhelming floods as a young wife and mother, I once wrote this…

Mighty God, You control all. Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever! Satan is subject to Your perfect purposes. You are KING. Father, I count on You as a shield around me. You are my strong shelter. How small I am. How big You are. 

So Lord, for my sisters in Christ who also suffer, and for me, thank You. All praise to You for being our strong and mighty fortress, the same yesterday, today, and forever. In Jesus’ powerful name, amen.

Material adapted from Singing the Gospel to Job: Finding Hope in Suffering, Lauri A. Hogle, Copyright © 2022

Resources for the “overwhelming flood” of suffering

When I was so sick in the 90s, over and over in Scripture, God showed me that I must sing what is true as I suffer, because my body, mind, and heart were in grave need. I now understand that singing holistically and uniquely addresses all of who we are. 

No wonder God tells us to sing, over and over in Scripture! Singing truths of God’s Word became a critical tool in the battle against our enemy!

I’ve been walking through an overwhelming flood recently. You too, sister in Christ? 

God had me prepare Scriptural worship playlists to sing-pray, the day before opening the door to flood waters that have swirled around me for the last few weeks. At the time, I had no idea that sudden death and grief would also infuse the deep waters.

So I’m singing to God with these songs now, through tears and fears, and simply sharing them (or any of the resources below) with you too. What a mighty fortress! Our protecting and powerful God strengthens us…even before those floodwaters arrive!

If it would bless you to cling to our “fortress in the storm” through Scripture and song, as you also walk in overwhelm, see below.