The Fortress Has Already Fallen

The fortress that once blocked your peace has already fallen. Walk into the rest that is yours in Christ.

Devotional Credit: Days of Heaven on Earth by A.B. Simpson
Photo Credit: Unsplash

A.B. Simpson reminds us that many believers live in endless skirmishes with sin because they’ve never fully entered into the victory that is already theirs in Christ. Rather than settling the matter with a decisive surrender and resting in Christ’s finished work, they remain in the trenches, exhausting themselves trying to win battles that were already won at Calvary. The City of David didn’t fall to David because of brute force or strategy—it fell because God had ordained it. “Nevertheless,” David captured it.

So too, many believers hear the voice of the enemy saying, “You’ll never get there”—never be free, never be whole, never rest. But the Spirit of Christ in us is our “nevertheless.” His indwelling presence is the decisive victory. Simpson warns us not to waste a lifetime circling the same strongholds when the Rest of God is available now for the trusting soul.

The invitation is clear: come and take Christ not only as Savior but as Sanctifier. That is, take Him as your life, your holiness, your victory. The work is already finished, but the heart must yield. Entering His rest may feel steep at first—dying to self, surrendering our striving—but on the other side of surrender is peace, not more struggle.

To continue living in spiritual restlessness is not just exhausting—it’s unnecessary. The call is to stop patching up the old self and to live from the new life within. It’s not a call to try harder but to trust deeper. The way has been opened. The invitation has been extended: “Come thou with us, and we will do thee good.”

Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture

You are not made for a life of inner warfare. I have not called you to endless struggle, but to confident rest in the victory of My Son. The fortress that once stood to block your peace has already fallen. Though the enemy once said you would never be free, I have made you free indeed.

Do not wear yourself thin trying to win what I’ve already secured. You are not the one holding the ground—I AM. I have raised you with Christ and seated you in heavenly places. The old battles, the besetting weights, the sins that once clung so closely—they no longer define your journey. I have delivered you from the dominion of darkness and transferred you into the kingdom of My beloved Son.

Yes, I invite you to labor to enter My rest—not a striving of the flesh, but the yielding of the heart. Let Me do in you what only I can do. When you trust Me fully, the striving ceases and the song begins. You do not need another round of self-effort, another moral strategy, another vow. You need only to abide in the Life that is now yours.

I am your victory. I am your sanctification. I am your rest.

Scripture References:
1 Chronicles 11:5, Galatians 2:20, Romans 6:1–14, Hebrews 4:9–11, Colossians 1:13–14, Ephesians 2:6, 1 Corinthians 1:30, John 15:4–5, Romans 8:1–2, Romans 8:37, Philippians 1:6, Hebrews 10:14, 2 Corinthians 2:14

Real-Life Analogy

Imagine trying to open a modern hotel room door with a battered old key from a different building. You jiggle, twist, push—and nothing happens. You keep returning to the same door, determined to make that key work, not realizing the room has already been assigned to you and a keycard is sitting at the front desk.

Why return to dead efforts when access has already been granted? Instead of striving to “get in,” you can walk straight into the rest that is already yours in Christ. The striving stops when the yielding begins.

So today, as thoughts of failure, temptation, or unworthiness whisper, “You’ll never get there,” respond by trusting—not trying. Say, “Lord, I yield to You to live Your victorious Life in me and through me in this moment, even in this temptation, this memory, this pressure.” You don’t need a better key—just the confidence to use the one already given.

Prayer of Confidence

Father, thank You for finishing what I could never begin. Thank You that my freedom is not rooted in effort but in Christ, who lives in me. I rejoice that I no longer have to fight for what’s already mine in Him. When the enemy says, “You’ll never get in here,” I remember You’ve already brought me in—past the gates, past the fortress, into Your heart.

Today I walk as one already victorious. I do not need to climb into rest—I abide in it. Thank You that Christ is my Rest, my Righteousness, and my Peace. I gladly surrender the keys of self-effort and take hold of the access You’ve freely given.

Amen.