Castles fall
The devotions for the coming week are taken from Lutheran Tract Mission’s 2026 Lenten devotional, ‘Hope for Our Future’. Written by Anne Hansen, Lutheran Tract Mission’s Tract Development Officer, the devotions focus on how our futures and hopes are assured in Jesus Christ. The Lenten devotional is available here. It can be downloaded, printed or used as a digital flipbook.
by Anne Hansen
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Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken (Psalm 62:5,6).
Read Psalm 62:1,2,5–8
The United Kingdom is home to many amazing castles, each with a unique story and incredible history. While nannying in England in 1991, I was asked to take the children to visit their grandparents in Perth, Scotland. A short plane trip later, we were in Scotland. On one of my days off, I borrowed a car and drove to St Andrews (the birthplace of golf), but I didn’t stop there. I went further to St Andrews Castle, built on the shore and cliffs overlooking the North Sea.
The first castle on this site was built from 1189 to 1202. It housed the wealthy and powerful lairds of that time. During various Scottish wars, it was destroyed and rebuilt as it changed hands from the Scots to the English over the next couple of centuries. It was rebuilt around 1400, and while the ruins visible today date from that period, their foundations reach back hundreds of years earlier.
St Andrews Castle has a colourful history and, at one stage in the 1500s, it was the centre of religious persecution and controversy. The ‘bottle dungeon’ can still be seen, and many Christians were imprisoned there. Visiting such a historic site enables the imagination to run riot with all that could and would have happened within the grounds of the walls. Castles were built as a fortification against enemies. A place where the ruling government could be secure, rest and find safety. But really, could they? There was always an enemy plotting their overthrow and wanting to take over the castle.
When King David wrote some of the psalms, I am sure he was relating God’s strength to the castles and fortresses of the time. It would have felt so secure and invincible living in them, but we know through history that castles do fall. But that was the closest King David could come to describing the security he felt when in God’s presence. We know that earthly buildings and structures will decay and fall away, but to have our hope built on the rock that is Christ Jesus, we have a foundation for life and beyond.
Place your hope and life on the rock of Jesus!
My Loving Father, help me not put my trust in earthly things, but to build my life on the rock of Jesus. He is the only one who can give me security and safety, and in him, I find hope for my future. Amen.
Anne Hansen has worked as the Lutheran Tract Mission Development Officer for almost 20 years. She lives in Noosa, Queensland, with her husband Mark (a pastor). She enjoys leading Know Your Bible (KYB) and Mainly Music. For relaxation, she loves walking, reading, gardening and playing pickleball.
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