As I was praying the other day from Ecclesiastes, “there is a time to tear down, and a time to build up”, the Sweet Holy Spirit revealed to me a simple nugget of truth that has been on my mind these couple days.

It would seem that walls in of themselves are not a bad thing as some would suppose. There were times in my past, when I would wince at the thought of there being a wall in my life. After all, a wall prevents us from going where we need to go, seeing who we need to see, or living life like we need to live it.

As I was praying the verse over, and declared that Prison walls need to be torn down while Fortress walls need to be built up, the Spirit dropped into my heart that a prison keeps us from being free. When a fortress is built up, it is usually done so that freedom can be preserved. The Father has done everything necessary to provide for us His Children, true freedom.

The Lord made this statement to me, “To live for yourself is to be in a prison, but to live for Me is to be in a fortress.”

There is true freedom in coming home from a tough day, and that is also true when you can come home to the Father’s house. He has afforded to us full access into His presence, where we can be totally free to live our life to the fullest.

A person who is in prison cannot go home to his family, but he must make his bed far away from those who he loves the most. When I used to do prison ministry, I remember hearing those steel doors come crashing to a close. It was a sinking feeling that was only made better by my knowing, that I could leave anytime I wanted, and go home.

The prisoner is there because they made certain choices in life that got them there. While some might still deny committing the crime, the accuser did a good job of making sure that the price for that crime was paid for by them. They are stuck behind those walls, and are unable to enjoy the freedom to go home.

It seems that humanity has a stubborn attitude of wanting things done “my way”. Burger King made a fortune with that slogan, Frank Sinatra sang it proudly, and many have ended up in Hell trying to do it. Living life “my way”, is how prison walls are built up in our lives.

If we make the Lord our fortress, the Most High our shelter, no evil will conquer us, no plague can come near our home. When we are in a prison, we are at the mercy of the accuser, but when we are in a fortress, we are at the mercy or the Lord almighty. I am unsure about you, but I trust my Jesus much more than I trust myself or the devil.

Can you imagine being in the will and covering of God Almighty, and knowing that nothing can touch you, because it would have to go through Him first, to get through to you? The attacks of the devil, seem like rain drops hitting on a skylight. You can look out of them, and see the rain bouncing off, and know fully that you are high and dry.

To be in God’s will is to be in a fortress, and that is freedom preserved.

If you have been feeling like life is a prison, maybe you need to see what area of your life that you have been trying to do “your way”. When you find yourself trapped in a situation, and the accuser is trying to make you pay for the crime, remember that the debt has already been paid. You need to tear down the prison walls that you have built for yourself, and run home to the fortress of God.

We need to stop allowing our pride to keep us prisoner, and we need to start humbling ourselves so that we can stay in the freedom of God.

Thank you Father for these simple revelations…