Psalm 94:22

STP Devotional for the Week of 10/19/26

But the LORD has become my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge. Psalm 94:22

We’ve discussed the meaning of the word “stronghold.” It’s a place of defense, a fortress against which the enemy cannot prevail.

We need to roll back a little bit in Psalm 94 to verse 16 to read why the psalmist has turned to God as his stronghold. “Who rises up for me against the wicked? Who stands up for me against evildoers?” We see his questions – basically, who is going to help me to stand against all these people who want to do me harm? He answers his questions in verse 17. “If the Lord had not been my help, my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence.” By this he means he would be dead without God’s help; that only God can provide escape from his enemies.

The psalmist next gives us another reason to turn to God with all of our needs – because God’s love is steadfast. “When I thought, “My foot slips,” your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up.” (v18) Who remembers what steadfast means? It means immovable, or not subject to change. God loves us always! Everything He does is for our good.

The psalmist voices our hope in verse 19, “When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.” He states that our heart has many cares. Does anyone have only one care? Usually, our cares are many and sometimes overwhelming – chores, people who need our help, homework, traffic, studying God’s word every day, the list seems endless. The psalmist tells us that God’s consolation cheers his soul. Consolation is a fancy word for comfort. So God’s comfort can cheer our soul. That means that if we don’t turn to God during trials, we can spiral deeper and deeper into depression, sadness, or worry that can overwhelm us. God cares for us and our concerns.

The psalmist then turns to rulers who are wicked in verses 20-21: “Can wicked rulers be allied with you, those who frame injustice by statute? They band together against the life of the righteous and condemn the innocent to death.” They create laws that pervert justice and allow innocent people to suffer. They make rules that benefit themselves at the expense of others. I had a “friend” once who chose a different best friend every day. I believe it gave her a feeling of power to hold our friend group hostage based on her whims. It was not an enjoyable place to be. These wicked rulers are like the Pharisees of Jesus’s time. They interpreted the Old Testament books in such a way that it benefitted them and oppressed or burdened the people. Remember we spoke about being burdened last week.

Finally, we get to our verse of the week: “But the LORD has become my stronghold, and my God the rock of my refuge.”(v. 22) The psalmist is building his house, his life, on the solid rock. When he states that God is the rock of his refuge, he means that the foundation of his life will be built on God, not on man or man’s law. The law of God is true. God is incapable of being evil. Nothing on earth can claim that as we are all sinners saved by grace. God remains true forever.

Let’s thank God for being steadfast, immovable, and our rock and stronghold. He alone is worthy of praise!

AT HOME:

• Have you chosen to build your life on the solid rock of Jesus? What’s keeping you from committing your life to him?