Return to Your Stronghold

Blooming Series–Post Three

by Jennifer Greene-Sullivan

“Return to your stronghold, you prisoners of hope; today I declare that I will restore to you double.”
— Zechariah 9:12

There are seasons when we don’t walk away from God—but we drift from the place where we rest in Him.
Not from His love.
Not from His grace.
But from the posture of abiding.
From the daily returning.
From the awareness that our strength is not something we manufacture, but someone we run to for fortitude.

In Zechariah, God does not rebuke His people. He calls them prisoners of hope, and He gives a gentle command: Return.

A stronghold is a place of refuge—a fortified space you run to when life presses in too hard when the enemy steals all from you. In Christ, the stronghold is not a hiding place of fear; it is a place of safety. It is not a location—it is a relationship. Jesus Himself is our Stronghold.

This week, God used something small and quiet to teach me what returning to a fortified relationship with him looks like.

After five years of waiting, my Christmas cacti bloomed—both of them. One opened in deep pink, vibrant and joyful. The other bloomed white—soft, open, unguarded. They did not bloom when I expected them to bloom. They bloomed after I moved them from my home to my office: the place where I write, pray, worship, and cry out to the Lord.

That space has become holy ground.
Tears have fallen there.
Songs have risen there.
Devotions have been written there.
Prayers have been whispered before answers ever formed.

God chose that place to show me what He is doing inside me from glory to glory.

The white bloom opened fully—petals stretched wide, reaching gently toward the light. It did not strain. It did not protect itself. It simply rested where it was placed. White speaks of surrender, purity, and peace that comes when striving ends. It reminds me that returning to the Stronghold does not make us weak—it makes us whole.

The pink blooms, joyful and expressive, unfolded at the same time. Together, they frame a picture of God’s promise: double restoration. Not barely enough. Not survival-level grace. HE PROVIDES ABUNDANCE born from abiding.

The image on my windowsill tells the story better than I ever could. A simple figure stands in the center, arms open, steady and rooted. On one side, the white bloom. On the other, the pink. Joy and peace. Praise and rest. Strength and surrender. The “double” surrounding the one who remains.

This is what it looks like to return to the Stronghold.

God does not ask us to fix ourselves before we come back. He does not demand that we arrive healed, steady, or strong. He simply says, Return to Me. Then, He promises restoration—double.

If you are weary, guarded, or tired of holding yourself together, hear this invitation today. Return. Lay down your striving. Abide again. Let God restore what has withered and bloom what has waited far longer than you expected.

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Pause & Reflect

Take a moment to sit with these questions before God:

• Where have I been striving instead of abiding?
• What part of my heart feels guarded or weary right now?
• What would it look like for me to return—not in effort, but in trust?
• Where might God be restoring “double” in my life?

Write honestly. Pray slowly. Let Him meet you there.

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A Prayer of Returning

Jesus, my Stronghold,
I return to You today.
I lay down my striving, my fear, and my exhaustion.
Restore what has withered. Renew what feels empty.
Teach me to abide and to trust Your timing.
I receive Your promise of double—
double peace, double joy, double hope.
Thank You for holding me when I cannot hold myself.
Amen.

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