A STRONG TOWER

Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer;
from the end of the earth
I call to you when my heart is faint.
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I,
for you have been my refuge,
a strong tower against the enemy.
(Psa 61:1-3 ESV)

The name of the LORD is a strong tower;
the righteous man runs into it and is safe.
(Pro 18:10 ESV)

Today, we don’t often think of towers as a means of protection and security as people did for many centuries. Sure, we have our tall buildings and skyscrapers, but they’re not the same. In the days of walled cities, a guard tower was an essential means of defense. From the tower, you could see an enemy approaching from a long way off, and prepare for attack (or launch a counter-offensive). Yet, for this to happen, the guards had to be on the look-out and recognize the threat when it arose.

Sadly, today, we can easily be lulled into a false sense of security. Now, I don’t mean to question the doctrine of eternal security, but we often fail to be on-guard against Satan’s attack and our own susceptibility to temptation. Like the guard who falls asleep on the job, endangering everyone he is supposed to be protecting, we endanger ourselves when we fail to put on our spiritual armor. Please take the time to look up, read, and apply Ephesians 6:10-18 today.

But, then, what do we do when we recognize a threat (spiritual attack or temptation)? Do we try to face it on our own, thinking we can handle it (often with disastrous results)? I hope that we are all wise enough to take refuge in the Lord, as the passages above tell us to do. It’s in running to Him, or getting on our knees in prayer, that we find safety in Him as our strong tower. May we always be quick to run to Him!

In His grip,
Pastor Decker