Finding a shelter in the storm

This morning I had a few hours that weren't committed (rare!) so I snuck away to spend some time in prayer. I took my bible with me and, as I was praying, I would stop and read through some of David's Psalms. I came upon this word several times and began to dwell on the idea a little more. I couldn't leave it alone because the word kept coming up in David's words, so I did some digging. It's not a strange word or even one we don't know, but I find that in my life I often lose the connection to what words mean if I don't revisit them on occasion. Here's the word- STRONGHOLD. David used this idea when he wrote,

Psalm 59:17 O my strength, I will sing praises to You; For God is my stronghold, the God who shows me lovingkindness.

God is my stronghold. That idea is repeated several times, so I had to stop and look into this a little more. The dictionary describes it this way,

strong·hold- A fortified place or a fortress. Or, A place of survival or refuge: one of the last strongholds of an age-old tradition.

I knew this word had the idea of protection, fortification, and safety; but it had always been connected to a place in my thinking. Now, suddenly I read that David makes God his stronghold. No longer does he have to run to a place for safety. Now, for David, a person is his stronghold and goes with him. A mobile stronghold? What an idea. Instead of running to a place for safety I now have a person with me who is my fortress. The God who is lord of all things is my fortress. It has profound implications for the Christian. If my safety is no longer in a place, but now is in a person how does that change how I live? How I function differently in the world? Suddenly "safety" is not somewhere, but now is someone! It's another wonderful blessing of a relationship with the living God- A fortress to go, please.