For you have been a fortress for me and a refuge in the day of my distress.
O my strength, I will sing praises to you, for you, O God, are my fortress, the God who shows me steadfast love.
(Psalm 59: 16-17)I’ve been on a kick lately of finding verses about morning meaningful, and this one came to me today.
It’s probably because I’ve never been a morning person, and yet lately I find myself up early, before the sun, day after day.
This part of psalm 59 reminds me to sing of God’s love in the morning.
Even when I’ve gotten bad sleep or wake up sick, I sing.
Because how I start my day matters.
And starting with a song of praise to the one who is with me each and every day is the hardest and, dare I say, best way to begin each day.
Yes, even better than coffee.
There are two words that appear twice each in these two verses. The first is “chesed” (heh-said) which we see translated as steadfast, and the other is “misgab” (mis-gahv) which we see translated as fortress.
Man, on mornings like this morning, where we are faced again with someone walking into a school and killing innocent teachers and students, I need these words… both of them.
I need the reminder that God’s love is “chesed” – steadfast.
That God’s love cannot be conquered.
I need to be reminded that God’s love is like the morning, always there, and new every day.
God loves constantly. Without fail.
Even in the midst of what feel like attacks.
The other word, Misgab, means “high place” and although it is a generic word for us, it’s an actual place. It’s in Moab, a large flat desert place, and Misgab is a high point, a mountain in the middle of the plains. From the top you can see for miles, so an attack against someone would be difficult. It’d be like us picking the highest place we can think of, or our most secure building, a place very difficult to be attacked by enemies, and say that God is that place.
God is our Air Force One
God is our Pope-mobile
God is our Mount Everest
I need this word today too.
I need to be reminded that God is strong.
God is a safe place.
And I can come to God when I am in need of those things.
When I’m feeling weak or under attack, when I question whether or not hate is gaining a foothold, I need these words.
Even in the midst of anger or sadness or fear, we can still come to our loving, fortress God. So if you’re like me, and need these words, especially today, for whatever reasons – let them be a balm on your heart:
God’s love is steadfast: never-ending, never quitting, always present.
God is a fortress: a place we can go when we need to feel safe and secure.
And then, safe in the fortress and surrounded by God’s love, we can still sing.
Amen.