People were seldom, if ever, frightened inside the Murud-Janjira fortress off the coast of India. It’s rated as the most impenetrable fort in the old world.¹ It’s surrounded by water, 40-feet high walls, and 19 rounded bastions. It has only one entrance, which is nearly hidden to outsiders. Inside the 22 acres is a source of fresh water as well as two large, manmade lakes. It was built to protect islanders from pirates. Over the centuries, it was besieged by the British, the Portuguese, and various Arabic nations, none of whom were able to conquer it or its 572 cannons.²

In a dangerous world, wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a place of total safety, where fear is unknown, insecurity is nonexistent, and everyone goes about their lives feeling safe and sound? There is no such place in our modern world—except one.

The musical monarch of Israel—King David—wrote in Psalm 62: “Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken” (verses 1-2, NIV).

David went on to explain that he was being assaulted by evil men who thought he was frail and tottery (verse 3). They wanted to topple him from his lofty place (verse 4). But he said again, “My soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken” (verses 5-6, NIV).

Then he has a message for you and me: “Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge” (verse 8, NIV).

In biblical times, rocks and fortresses were steadfast shelters that people could count on when their world got chaotic. When a storm sprang up or enemies descended, one could run to the safety of the fortress. David often talked about hiding among the rocks of Judea, which he had done countless times when running from the army of King Saul, who wanted to kill him.

The Judean hills are riddled with thousands of caves and caverns, and these places offered cool, dark safety because there were far too many of them to search for a single fugitive. When he was exhausted and terrified for his life, David would find the nearly hidden entrance to a cave, slip into its interior, and rest in total safety, knowing he would not be discovered or disturbed.

In Psalm 62, He said that God is like that—“My rock and my salvation…my fortress” (verse 2, NIV). This safety represented freedom from worry and constant vigilance. This psalm, then, tells us that by trusting in the Lord, we don’t have the kinds of fears that plague us when we rely only on ourselves.

In the parable of the prodigal son, the servants joyfully told the older sibling, “Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf” (Luke 15:27).

That’s just how God keeps us!

Safe

In Psalm 27, David struck a similar note, saying, “For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock” (verse 5, NIV).

But what does it mean—to be kept safe? Does that mean we’ll never suffer an injury, have a wreck, experience danger or abuse, encounter a fatal accident or even suffer death from persecution? I cannot say that—for two reasons. First, God’s people in the Bible were not exempt from the emergencies life brings us. Second, we know from experience that we live in a perilous world.

Let me define safety this way: God will never let anything touch His children that He doesn’t allow, and nothing He allows will jeopardize our eternal safety in heaven. Indeed, He will cause all the negatives against us to turn to good.

Paul knew that when he said, “The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen” (2 Timothy 4:18, NIV). Shortly after writing this, he was executed by beheading. But through that experience, God rescued him from life and brought him safely to heaven.

That’s why we can live without fear. Psalm 78:53 says, “He guided them safely, so they were unafraid” (NIV).

Sound

When we talk about being sound, we’re touching on the idea of freedom from injury and damage and on being wise and healthy—think of a sound heart, sound mind, a sound business, a sound investment, or sound advice.

The Lord keeps us sound by giving us His sound doctrine. The apostle Paul wrote, “What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching, with faith and love in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 1:13, NIV). He also told us to be “sound in the faith” (Titus 1:13).

When we open the pages of our Bible—whether it falls open to Genesis, Psalms, Jeremiah, Mark, Hebrews, or wherever—we are reading about the enveloping fortress of God’s care for us, His grace, His protective zone where we can be safe and sound, knowing no one can ever pluck us out of His hand (John 10:29).

We’re not exempt from the stress and strain of life, but we do have a Savior who keeps us safe and sound, and that’s why you’ll also be able to find a verse to encourage you. Just as the Judean hills were riddled with caves for David to crawl into, the Word of God is riddled with promises, which are great hiding places.

Psalm 62 is a great example: “Truly my soul finds rest in God…. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken” (verses 1-2, NIV).

Evangelist Eric Elder is an example of a man who opened his Bible to Psalm 62 and found just what he needed there. He later wrote, “I was reading these words three years ago while sitting on a beach in Cancun—a rare treat for me. I was there for just 48 hours, but they were 48 hours in which I knew I was going to need God’s help. It was my 25^th wedding anniversary—and I was making the trip alone.”

He explained, “My wife had passed away just over a year earlier. I didn’t know how I would handle it, being all alone—being afraid! I might capsize under yet another wave of grief. But sitting there on the beach, all alone on my anniversary, I came upon Psalm 62. I read David’s words, written at a time when he could have easily collapsed, too. I took to heart when I read, at such a tenuous time in his life, David leaned on God.”

Elder continued, “In that moment, I realized that everything really did come from God—even my dear wife whom I had lost and was missing so much. I realized that if God was able to provide a wife for me all those years ago—not to mention every other blessing I had ever enjoyed in my life—that I could trust Him to provide anything I might need now or ever in the future.”

That day he wrote in the margin of his Bible: “Father, thank You for reconnecting me with this truth; that You are the one and only; that everything I need comes from You—even Lana came from You. You are my source and my strength.”

“Instead of the wave of grief I had feared, I was overwhelmed by a wave of peace; a wave of love; a wave of rest in the fact that I knew that I knew that I could trust God with this, too.”³

The Lord is your resting place in a restive world, and He will keep you safe and sound, as He defines those terms. Take whatever fear is chasing you, and leave it behind for a while. Find the hiding place of Psalm 62, and let your heart find rest in God alone—“for you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory” (Colossians 3:3-4).

Sources:

¹“World’s Strongest Castles,” Architecture of Cities, May 7, 2020.
²“About Murud Janjira Fort,” The India.
³Eric Elder, “This Day’s Thought From the Ranch—Strong Prayers—Psalm 62,” The Ranch, May 28, 2017.