The Fortress in the Storm

“As soon as I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, because I have decided to winter there.”
Titus 3:12 (NIVUK)

WINTERING WELL IN GOD’S PRESENCE

There are moments in Scripture where a simple sentence carries profound wisdom for navigating the seasons of life. “I have decided to winter there,” Paul writes to Titus (Titus 3:12). A missionary, an apostle, a man driven by the gospel—yet even he discerned that winter was a time to pause, to shelter, and to wait until storms passed. Different seasons require different responses. Paul didn’t push through winter; he wintered in Nicopolis because the conditions simply weren’t right for the journey ahead.

That is divine wisdom.

The Bible says, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). There is a time to stay and fight, and a time to flee and rest. A time to plant, and a time to uproot. A time for mourning, and a time for dancing. Spiritual maturity is learning not just to move—but to move with God, discerning the season He places before us.

A Season to Hide in the Strong Tower

Years ago, God spoke to me with startling clarity: “Winter.” After twenty years of ministry momentum—growth, fruit, impact—He whispered that a new season had begun. Not a season of running, but a season of hiding. I saw a tower in a vision, a place of refuge. Later, when I looked into the remains of ancient Nicopolis, I found a tower exactly like the one I had seen. It was as though God had circled Titus 3:12 in neon. “Hide in Me until the storm passes.”

So I wintered.
In prayer, in stillness, in the sanctuary of His name—a strong tower (Proverbs 18:10). Storms raged around me, but inside that holy fortress, I met Jesus afresh. I heard His voice. I found comfort, strength, and joy in the valley. Those years became a foundation stone for the rest of my life.

What Season Are You In?

Are you in a season to rest, retreat, and refocus? Jesus said, “When you pray, go into your room and shut the door” (Matthew 6:6). Shut the door on distraction, gossip, unhealthy influence, and spiritual noise. Like a castle, your heart has a drawbridge—lift it up against what drains you, and lower it to what feeds you.

Perhaps this is your time to fast, pray, simplify, and hide in God.
Or perhaps your season is shifting—time to lower the drawbridge for Kingdom opportunities, new friendships, new courage, new adventures. Seasons change, but His voice shepherds you through each one.

Let today be the day you make your heart an outpost of God’s Kingdom—full of life, power, peace, and His glorious presence.

Believe & Confess Meditation & Declaration

Today I hide myself in the strong tower of God’s name, safe and secure (Proverbs 18:10). I declare that He leads me perfectly in every season and makes everything beautiful in its time (Ecclesiastes 3:1,11). I rest under His wings until the storms have passed (Psalm 57:1). His peace guards my heart and mind as I fix my thoughts on Him (Philippians 4:7). The Lord is my refuge and fortress, and in Him I trust (Psalm 91:2). He renews my strength, lifts my head, and guides my steps into the next season with joy (Psalm 23:3).

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500

500 years after the dawn of the Reformation, Jarrod Cooper asks if we are entering a new Church Age? It would seem, from a study of Biblical and Church history, that every 500 years some great adjustment and development of God’s workings on earth takes place. If this is true then that means we are a generation destined to walk with God at another pivotal turning point in history.

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