Day 30: Jeremiah 16:19

"Oh Lord my strength, my fortress, my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the Earth, and shall say, 'Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit.'" ~Jeremiah 16:19 KJV

Observe how Jeremiah describes the Lord. The Lord is Jeremiah's:
~strength~fortress
~refuge in the day of affliction.

One might presume that "fortress" and "refuge" are synonyms. And in some ways they are. Let's take a dictionary look at the two. Fortress - any place of exceptional security. Refuge - anything to which one has recourse for aid, relief, or escape. Those definitions from dictionary.com show a fundamental difference in the explanation of the two. Refuge from danger can be found in a fortress - but just because you're in a fortress doesn't mean you're in a refuge. Using thesaurus.com, we could say that 

Jeremiah describes the Lord as his:
~fortitude
~stronghold
~sanctuary

Reading through some other versions of the Bible will probably reveal even more synonyms and ways of viewing God as an Almighty Savior.

The second half of the verse implies what has already happened - Jesus came and revealed a superior way to connect to God. Even Gentiles are allowed in on His love, and we know that it is better than the "gods" of our forefathers, which were nothing more than "lies, vanity and things wherein there was no profit."


So we know who the Lord was to Jeremiah - who is He to you?