how to build an inner fortress
"Acquire a peaceful spirit, and thousands around you will find salvation."
St. Seraphim of Sarov
We live in a fearful and anxious age.
Most men don’t talk about it much, but most of us feel it in our hearts.
Fear speaks to all the immediate issues and concerns in front of us; anxiety to the coming challenges that haunt our future.
And it does not seem like things are going to get easier.
The rise of war, political elections on the horizon, inflation, AI and our own dehumanization, changing job markets, and rising despair. If we are not careful, our hearts can be overwhelmed with the cares of this age.
The great comfort and promise of our faith, though, is that we do not need peaceful external circumstances to have a peaceful spirit. We are not subject to cultural conditions that dictate our spiritual position.
We have been granted an inner well to draw from in a cultural desert and an inner life to sustain us while those around us wither. The promise is not just that we will have inner peace but that we will have Christ Himself within us, the hope of glory.
But learning to look within, while others are drawn outward, is something the soul has to learn. A man will have to master many things in his life, but none more important than discipling his attention.
If we look outward with the world, all we will see is crisis and dismay.
If we look outward with the world, we will be caught in the anxious present.
If we look outward, our hearts will be weighed down with the cares of this life.
DISCIPLED BY DAVID
In Psalm 27, King David’s outer life is in chaos.
Over the course of his life, David faced betrayal from his family, opposition from Saul, and threats from the enemy. Yet, David had learned the most important lesson of all: how to build an inner fortress no one else can touch. Psalm 27 is the key. Read these words slowly.
Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me, even then I will be confident.
One thing have I asked of the LORD, that will I seek after:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in his temple.
Many of us feel besieged these days.
Besieged by political correctness.
Besieged by secular ideologies.
Besieged by financial pressure.
Besieged by relational stress.
Inwardly, though, we can thrive despite this all. David knew the key.
Dwell. Gaze. Inquire.
DWELL
…that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life
All of us have a choice as to where we locate our hearts. We set a base that we move in and out from. Sometimes, we are tossed to and fro by the issues pressing in on us, or we drift along with the cultural tides and events that happen to us. David set his mind to be rooted and grounded in his relationship with God.
We are called to make our hearts His temple and our lives His home.
GAZE
…to gaze on the beauty of the LORD
Mary Oliver said, “Attention is the beginning of devotion.”
The goal is to learn to live a sacramental life. Sacramental means to keep the sacred (sacra) in mind (mental).
In The Pursuit of God, A.W. Tozer has a chapter called “The Gaze of the Soul.”
He talks about the wonder and possibility of living life on two levels: the outer level of human activity and the inner level of communion with God. He writes,
“A new set of eyes (so to speak) will develop within us enabling us to be looking at God while our outward eyes are seeing the scenes of this passing world.”
He talks about the liberating power of an inner gaze like this.
Looking is of the heart and can be done successfully by any man standing up or kneeling down or lying in his last agony a thousand miles from any church. Since believing is looking it can be done any time. No season is superior to another season for this sweetest of all acts. God never made salvation depend upon new moons nor holy days or sabbaths. A man is not nearer to Christ on Easter Sunday than he is, say, on Saturday, August 3, or Monday, October 4. As long as Christ sits on the mediatorial throne every day is a good day and all days are days of salvation.
INQUIRE
…and to inquire in his temple.
God offers to give us wisdom when we ask. We don’t just worship in His presence; we gain wisdom in His presence.
He gives us insights into complex decisions.
Breakthrough when we need provision.
Warns us when we are in danger.
Power to make us stronger.
When we look inward, we see the finished work of Christ.
When we look inward, we see the spirit of adoption.
When we look inward, we see the Father's lavish love.
Look inward, friends.
Dwell. Gaze. Inquire.
BUILDING THE INNER FORTRESS
To lead in the world today, you will need a secret source of peace—one that does not depend on the comfort or certainties of the world. This is what God offers you with His love. Ask God for grace to build a fortress within. Create space in your day to turn your heart to Him. And may what St Seraphim said be true of you—that your peaceful spirit will lead this anxious generation to our God of peace.
Here is some fuel for an inner life of peace.
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In Today’s Newsletter
Verses to memorize on peace
Quotes to ponder
My favorite books on peace
Music for instant calm
A couple of poems about peace
Movies to cultivate peace
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VERSES
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
John 14:27
You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.
Isaiah 26:3
Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.
2 Thessalonians 3:16
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33
Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Philippians 4:9
In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, LORD, make me dwell in safety.
Psalms 4:8
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QUOTES
“We enter into solitude first of all to meet our Lord and to be with Him and Him alone. Only in the context of grace can we face our sin; only in the place of healing do we dare to show our wounds; only with a single-minded attention to Christ can we give up our clinging fears and face our own true nature. Solitude is a place where Christ remodels us in his own image and frees us from the victimizing compulsions of the world.”
Henri Nouwen
"I have never known more than fifteen minutes of anxiety or fear. Whenever I feel fearful emotions overtaking me, I just close my eyes and thank God that He is still on the throne reigning over everything, and I take comfort in His control over the affairs of my life."
John Wesley
"God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing."
C. S. Lewis
“I could hear an inner voice saying to me, ‘Martin Luther, stand up for truth. Stand up for justice. Stand up for righteousness.’”
(The quiet voice of peace at the kitchen table that enables Dr King to contend for change in the Civil Rights Movement)
"While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart."
Francis of Assisi
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BOOKS
Holy Noticing by Charles Stone
This book has some amazing research in it, but more than that, it helps you learn to pay attention to what God is doing around you. A way to find peace in the presence, filled with great processing tools.
Many today think mindfulness is dangerous, unchristian, or associated with Eastern religions—and often it is! But Dr. Charles Stone reveals that the art of holy noticing—purposefully paying attention to God as he works in us, our relationships, and our world—is a spiritual discipline Christians have practiced for millennia. Holy Noticing explores the historically Christian and biblical roots of this lifestyle, as well as Dr. Stone’s BREATHe model, which teaches you to be more engaged with Christ in the everyday moments that too often slip right by us.
The Attentive Life by Leighton Ford
I read this book during Covid, and it was an incredible gift. I love the vision of walking with God over the course of a day.
Your attention, please. That's what God wants, Leighton Ford discovered. It's the path to becoming like Christ. Distractions, fear and busyness were keeping Ford from seeing God's work in and around him. He was missing God. So he began a journey of longing and looking for God. And it started with paying attention. In these pages, he invites you to journey with him. Using the rich monastic tradition of praying the hours, Ford will walk with you, helping you pay attention to God's work in you and around you throughout each day and in different seasons of your life. If you're busy, distracted, rushing through each day, you might be feeling disconnected from God, unable to see how he's working. You might be missing him. But the way toward him starts with a pause and a prayer―with intention and attention―and becomes a way of life, awake and alive to the peaceful, powerful presence of God.
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MUSIC
These albums will bring a sense of instant calm. I have these albums on for study, contemplation, and prayer walking around the city.
Calm, Vol. 4 by Somnoscape
Just the right amount of instrumentation in here.
Premonition is beautiful.
Liminal by Be Still The Earth
Atmospheric soundscapes. But done right.
Disappearing, Then Taking Shape is a gem.
Moon Balloon by Be Still The Earth
Atmospheric soundscapes. But done right again.
A Blanket of Stars is magic.
Sleep Scenes Volume 3-Eventide by Dear Gravity
Like William Augusto, but better.
Vagary is gold.
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POEMS
The Peace of Wild Things by Wendell Berry
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
Mountains by Adam Zagajewski
When night draws near
the mountains are clear and pure
—like a philosophy student
before exams.
Clouds escort the dark sun
to the shaded avenue’s end
and slowly take their leave,
but no one cries.
Look, look greedily,
when dusk approaches,
look insatiably,
look without fear.
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MOVIES
Perfect Days
This movie haunted me. There is no other way to say it. It’s a slow burn without a bang ending. However, it had a profound lingering effect on me. It made me want to slow down, live in the grace and peace of daily blessings, and cultivate gratitude.
It’s a story about a middle-aged man who cleans toilets in Tokyo but finds contentment in the small blessings of everyday life. Hard to describe, but it hits deep.
Past Lives
This is a movie about having to fight for peace in the midst of all the “what ifs” and “what could have been” in life. It deals with the tension of the immigrant experience and what it means to find love and home. Thought-provoking.
Cheers.
Jon.
