A Strong Tower

The name of the LORD is a strong tower;

the righteous run to it and are safe.

Proverbs 18:10

I'm a very visual person. This can be a blessing or a curse. If I'm trying to picture how I want something to look, it's great. If you give me "too much information", well, I could be scarred for life! My Papa knows this about me so sometimes He answers my questions in wonderful visual ways.

Just this week I was remembering one of these answers He gave to me in July of 2007. We were living in a camping trailer as we tried to finish the house we were building. It was pretty stressful. I don’t like moving even when I’m looking forward to it. Nothing was convenient. No shower, no laundry, no stove, no privacy. It had to have been the windiest July on record. I couldn’t even barbeque because the flame would blow out. I had tried really hard to be organized so things would run smoothly in this transition time and yet it seemed like I was daily rummaging through boxes looking for the one thing that we absolutely needed. My husband was under a lot of pressure to get the house completed and get back to work.

I was playing a favorite CD and trying to encourage myself. I found myself singing enthusiastically to a song based on Proverbs 18:10: “The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous run to it and are safe.” I prayed, “Lord, how do I run to your name? How is your name a ‘strong tower’? I really want to be safe right now from so many different things. Discouragement. Frustration. Impatience. Anger.”

No sooner had that prayer formulated in my heart than one of my girls came running toward me yelling, “Mom!! He’s trying to hit me!” As soon as she called out, “Mom!” her little tormentor slowed down and by the time she reached me he was actually off and running in the other direction.

I laughed out loud! Probably not the reaction the kids were looking for, but God had answered my prayer. I saw in living colour that when I call on His name and I’m running toward Him the enemy knows he’s already been defeated.

I think I often call for help, all the while cringing and huddling with my hands over my head as though I'm still expecting the enemy to strike. It helps me to visualize myself running with confidence toward my Papa while my enemy backs off because he knows he has no chance of succeeding. Seeing with the eyes of faith what is really happening in a difficult time makes all the difference in our posture.

The trailer didn’t get any bigger and it was weeks before things got a little more convenient, but I found myself a little more peaceful as I “ran into the strong tower” calling out, “Father! Abba! I need you!”