Praise be to the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle. He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues peoples under me. (Psalm 144:1-2, NIV)
Psalm 144 became one of my lifelines while our son was at war. When he was deployed in the Middle East, I learned the importance of reading from the Psalms daily. God’s word became my strength, my shield and the method I used to stay focused when fear threatened to overwhelm me.
It was amazing though, how hard it was to discipline myself to sit down and open my Bible. So often, I’d find myself crying, overwhelmed by thoughts of what my son must be facing. Or I’d see something that reminded me of him and waves of longing for him to be safe at home would swamp my already tenuous mood.
During those times, it seemed much easier to sit and wallow in misery. Opening the Bible was too much work. It was simpler to turn on the TV or grab a snack and veg my way deeper into depression.
I learned that those were exactly the times when I needed God the most—needed His Word.
To overcome this soggy method of coping, I began to make a list of the verses that helped. Surprisingly, almost all the verses I turned to when struggling were found in the book of Psalms. The raw emotion and the transparency of the author’s own struggles drew me in. These writers understood what I was going through.
Read More: The Unbelievable Comfort of the Psalms
Beyond that, the thought that God knew how important those words would be thousands of years in the future brought me comfort beyond belief.
I learned a valuable lesson during those dark days. God is right there with us when we struggle, offering help if we’ll only accept it.
