Strongholds

Strongholds: old, difficult, discouraging challenges.
That's what David faced when he looked at Jerusalem. When you and I think of the city, we envision temples and prophets. We picture Jesus teaching, a New Testament church growing. We imagine a thriving, hub-of-history capital.
When David sees Jerusalem in 1000 BC, he sees something else. He sees a millennium-old, cheerless fortress, squatting defiantly on the spine of a ridge of hills. A rugged outcropping elevates her. Tall walls protect her. Jebusites indwell her. No one bothers them. Philistines fight the Amalekites. Amalekites fight the Hebrews. But the Jebusites? They are a coiled rattlesnake in the desert. Everyone leaves them alone.
Everyone that is, except David. The just-crowned king of Israel has his eye on Jerusalem. He's inherited a divided kingdom. The people need, not just a strong leader, but strong headquarters. David's present base of Hebron sits too far south to enlist the loyalties of the northern tribes. But if he moves north, he'll isolate the south. He seeks a neutral, centralized city.
He wants Jerusalem. We can only wonder how many times he's stared at her walls. He grew up in Bethlehem, only a day's walk to the south. He hid in the caves in the region of En Gedi, not far south. Surely he noticed Jerusalem. Somewhere he pegged the place as the perfect capital. The crown had scarcely been re-sized for his head when he set his eyes on his newest Goliath.

And the king and his men went to Jerusalem against the Jebusites, the inhabitants of the land, who spoke to David, saying, "You shall not come in here; but the blind and the lame will repel you."...Nevertheless David took the stronghold of Zion, (that is, the City of David). Now David said on that day. "Whoever climbs up by way of the water shaft and defeats the Jebusites...he shall be chief and captain."...Then David dwelt in the stronghold, and called it the City of David. (2 San. 5: 6-9)

This regrettably brief story tantalizes us with the twofold appearance of the word stronghold. In verse 7, "David took the stronghold," and in verse 9, "David dwelt in the stronghold."
Jerusalem meets the qualification of one: an old, difficult, and discouraging fortress. From atop the turrets, Jebusite soldiers have ample time to direct arrows at any would-be-wall climbers. And discouraging? Just listen to the way the city-dwellers taunt David. "You'll never get in here...Even the blind and lame could keep you out!"
The Jebusites pour scorn on David like Satan dumps buckets of discouragement on you:

~You'll never overcome your bad habits.
~Born white trash; gonna die white trash.
~Think you can overcome your addiction? Think again.

If you've heard the mocking David heard, you story needs the word David's has. Did you see it? Most hurry past it. Let's not. Pull out a pen and underline this twelve-letter masterpiece.

Nevertheless.

"Nevertheless David took the stronghold..."
Granted, the city was old. The walls were difficult. The voices were discouraging...Nevertheless David took the stronghold.
Wouldn't you love God to write a nevertheless in your biography? Born to alcoholics, nevertheless she led a sober life. Never went to college, nevertheless he mastered a trade. Didn't read the Bible until retirement age, nevertheless he came to a deep and abiding faith.
We all need a nevertheless. And God has plenty to go around. Strongholds mean nothing to him. You and I fight with toothpicks; God comes with battering rams and cannons. What he did for David, he can do for us. The question is, will we do what David did? The king models much here.
David turns a deaf ear to old voices. Those mockers strutting on the wall tops? David ignores them. He dismisses their words and goes about his work. Do what David did. Since he did what no one expected, he achieved what no one imagined.
Do what David did. Turn a deaf ear to the old voices. Open a wide eye to the new choices. Who knows, you may be a prayer away from a nevertheless. God loves to give them.
Nevertheless. Peter preached, Joseph ruled, the woman shared, Jesus rose...and you? You fill in the blank. Your nevertheless awaits you.


excerpt from Facing Your Giants by Max Lucado