But I will sing of your strength in the morning. I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble. You are my strength, I sing praise to you; you, God are my fortress, my God on whom I can rely. (NIV Psalm 59:16-17)

It’s no secret that I am a big fan of reading the Psalms. I feel Jesus’ comfort when I read them. Now I read a few everyday, sometimes multiple times a day. I’ve recently added Psalm 59 to my daily reading, and when I read this Psalm, there is something about how many times the Psalmist uses the words fortress and strength in these 4 verses that offers me a sense of security and comfort. 

Security and comfort is something I think most people take for granted, it is something that everyone should have.

I have not had much of it in my life, as a child I experienced the constant fear & anxiety of a father that suffered from a violent mental illness. Having to always be on guard, because he could show up anytime and try to take me. When he would show up, I would have to hide from him. Whether it was being sent to hide in the woods until someone came to get me when it was safe, always being afraid he would find me. Or if I was at school, my teachers would have to hide me while he fought other teachers, yelling through the school how he would find me. I very clearly remember having to hide in a bathroom stall, standing on the toilet seat, with my teacher, while he was looking for me. He was yelling that whoever was hiding me would pay when he found us. He would usually end up beating the tar out of any adult trying to protect me and then end up arrested. I have a very long list of instances just like this one that created an environment where I never felt a sense of security or comfort my entire childhood.

But God is so loving & kind. Over the past three years he has been revealing himself to me in ways I could not have imagined. First by showing me that I could trust him in all things, that I just needed to seek him, ask him, and trust that he would be there for me. 

He also showed me that no matter what I had been through in my childhood he had been there with me, throughout the good and the bad, he had never left my side. He has started me down this road of faith & healing from all of the trauma I’ve experienced in my life. It has been little by little, and we still have a ways to go. 

With everything he has revealed to me during this process, I know that he will comfort me during times of uncertainty and fear and that he will protect me throughout this process. He has already proven this to me several times, and I know he will continue to do so. 

If you have tender areas in your past, I’d encourage you to pray and ask him to show you where he was during the incident that created the tender area, and that you are asking him to heal you from it. That you want to be freed from its hold on you. 

If you have a minute to grab your bible, or, open the bible app on your phone, give Psalm 59 a read. What is it saying to you? 

I’ll close with this prayer

Lord, as we read this Psalm and go through our day, I ask that you would touch our heart and offer your comfort and protection.