TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
In the fear of the LORD one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge. Proverbs 14:26, ESV
TODAY’S DEVOTION
It started with pillows. Then it was a blanket draped over a card table. Next, it was a wooden structure – boards and nails – in the corner of the backyard.
Whatever materials it was made of, and wherever it stood, it was safe. No monsters could ever come inside the fort.
No one ever really outgrows their childhood fort. Sure, we laugh at our childhood monsters and remember all the “battles” in our backyards, but we all long for safety when life is scary.
If you’re a dad, you get to build pillow forts for your kids and then have fun “storming the castle” as a “scary monster” (who tickles the brave knight). And while this may be a five-minute fracas, it teaches a life lesson: Stand strong because all those scary monsters can be beaten.
All that … from a pillow.
This isn’t the only fortress you get to build. Proverbs 14:26 invites dads to build a “fortress of faith” for their children.
Unlike a pillow fort, a fortress of faith is the one safe place your child can turn when life’s monsters attack. Only these monsters don’t tickle noble knights. They seek to destroy lives and tear relationships apart. Some even have names like fear, doubt, lies, deconstruction, and pornography.
Where will your child turn for safety?
To the fortress of faith you helped them build.
How do you build such a fortress? Brick by brick. Scripture by Scripture. Story by story. Day by day. No matter how old your child is, you can always add another brick to their fortress of faith. Share what God is teaching you. Remind them of the times God was the hero in your life story. Pray for them. Pray with them.
One day they’ll need shelter from life’s “monsters.” Your faith — and all the things you’ve taught them —can remind them to seek refuge in their fortress of faith where a Good King waits to welcome them and offer safety.
Keep building.
TODAY’S PRAYER
Heavenly Father, I find refuge in you. Help me build a fortress of faith for my family. Amen.
