by Mrs. Rita D'Souza
In old testament times, names were not chosen randomly, as they are done today. Names were given in relation to the character of the person. The name would indicate something about the person. In biblical language 'names meant character'.
When we say that the name of the Lord is a Strong Tower, what we are really saying is that God's character or 'who He is', is our Strong Tower in times of trouble.
A Strong Tower is a fortress, a place of refuge where one would be safe from the enemy who is outside. Psalm 18:2 says "the Lord is my Rock and my Fortress and my Deliverer, my God, my Rock in whom I take refuge."
During times of crisis / difficulties the Lord is our hiding place.
In Him,
- We are protected from all evil
- Have peace in the midst of turmoil
- Experience joy in the midst of pain and suffering
Moreover the Lord is not just my Tower but a 'STRONG TOWER' for 1John4:4 says "He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world".
The righteous man is safe only if he runs into it. We run into it by faith i.e. by trusting in who God is or His character. Psalm 9:10 says "and those who know Thy name put their trust in Thee, for Thou O Lord has not forsaken those who seek Thee".
For example, we may be going through a situation where we can't see any answer to our prayers. Our experiences and circumstances seem contrary to God's love. We don't understand why, but still we can say " I put my trust in who You are, I know that You are good, You are faithful, you love me with a steadfast love, You are just, a God of infinite wisdom, You will never leave me nor forsake me and so I trust You Lord, even if I can't see, feel or understand. When I do this, I am running into the Lord as my Strong Tower
Mature faith rests in 'WHO GOD IS'. Vision, dreams, signs spiritual experiences, prophecies are good but our faith should not be dependent on these. Even in the absence of all the above, 'the Lord and Who He Is', our Strong Tower.
If a son should continuously ask his earthly father for proof of his love and care for him, his father would be grieved. A child knows that his daddy is there, he is content no matter what is happening around him. Just the fact that daddy is there, is enough
Peter saw Jesus transfigured (Matthew 17:1-8) on the mountain and heard the father's voice saying "this is my own dear Son, with whom I am pleased, listen to Him" yet Peter had to come down from the mountain top experience and face everyday life. Inspite of all these experiences, he still denied Jesus.
In Exodus 3:13-14, in reply to Moses' question "what is His name?" God reveals Himself as "I AM WHO I AM", thereby signifying that He is self existent, self sufficient, eternal and unchangeable. "I am" would mean that God is all that we need Him to be eg. I am your strength, your peace, your all in all, your all sufficiency.
In Job 1:20,22 we see Job's response to terrible calamities that befell him. Verse 22 says that Job did not charge God with all that he was going through. He knew God couldn't be wrong and was worthy of his (Job's) praise and worship even in the midst of severe testing.
If we will only worship the Lord in the midst of our trials we will know Him and His presence as our Strong Tower.
Proverb 18:10 says 'the righteous man runs into it'. God's character is love and God is holy. We need to be in right relationship with the Lord to make him our strong tower. We need to make our peace with God by accepting Jesus as our personal Saviour and Lord and we need to then continue to walk in obedience to Him.
We often think of a fortress, as a hard concrete building. There is however, a fortress that is tender and full of comfort. The arms of a mother - one that is most impregnable, yet the tenderest fortress that one can ever find. And yet a human mother has her limitation and can fail. But the arms of our heavenly Father are strong, powerful, dependable and full of tenderness, comfort, compassion. He can never fail.
Isaiah 66:13 "As one whom his mother comforts, so will I comfort you."