Protection in times of trouble

DAILY BIBLE READING:

2 Kings 20:1–22:2 
Acts 21:18-36 
Psalm 150:1-6 
Proverbs 18:9-10

BIBLE VERSE(S) FOR TODAY:

Proverbs 18:10 (CSB) "The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are protected."

REFLECTIONS ON TODAY'S BIBLE VERSE(S):

Our Verse for Today is a comforting verse. 

Why?

Because we know that life can get tough at times. We can grow anxious or scared.

Maybe someone is telling malicious lies about us and we cannot stop it. 

Maybe we are awaiting test results to find out why our body is misbehaving. 

Maybe our vehicle has broken down and there isn't enough money in the bank to fix it. 

Maybe the place where we are employed is experiencing a slow-down and we are worried about a lay-off.

On and on this list could go. Bad things happen and we often respond as a little child who needs a place to run and hide.

Well, our Verse for Today tells us that even adults have a place to run and hide when things get rough.

Proverbs 18:10 (CSB) "The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are protected."

We are told that when those who are followers of the Lord and obedient to His instructions ("the righteous") need a place to run for protection, they can run into the strong tower that is "the name of the Lord."

We may scratch our heads at this concept. The language sounds comforting except for the fact that we wonder: "What is 'the name of the Lord' and how can I run into it?"

Well, in the Hebrew mind, a person's whole identity was tied up in their name. Parents would give their children names that had a special meaning and then prayed that it would create an identity that their children would grow into. So, a person's name really referred to the whole person.

So, when we are talking about "the name of the Lord," we aren't simply talking about His Name. We are talking about every bit of Him as identified by His Name. When the Psalmist says "the name of the Lord is a strong tower," he's saying that the Lord is a strong tower that we can run to in times of difficult and be safe.

Which begs the question: "How do I experience the protection of the Lord?"

Wouldn't it be wonderful if when things got tough, we could run to the Lord and not experience anything at all undesirable? Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could run to the Lord and He would take away the cancer, or miraculously put thousands of dollars into our bank account, or drop a new vehicle from the skies onto our driveway?

Friend, this isn't Heaven. We aren't home yet. Bad things are going to happen because we live in a broken, Genesis 3 world.

The protection of the Lord may mean that we are protected from the undesirable circumstances. But, it more than likely means that we are in His care and know that even when we are walking through the valley of the shadow of death we won't fear any evil because He is with us! (see Psalm 23:4).

Our protection comes when we pray and then recognize that nothing can happen to us unless our all-powerful, completely loving Heavenly Father allows it. And, if He allows it, no matter how traumatic the experience may be, He has promised that He desires to work it out for our ultimate good (Romans 8:28). which means to make us more like Jesus (Romans 8:29).

So, we run into the "tower" of God's protection when we pray and acknowledge His complete, sovereign care over us. We realize that nothing can happen to us without it coming from His hands. So, we can rest in His care ... even as the storms may rage around us.

It is my understanding that this is the way that we are to understand that the Lord is our strong tower that we run to in time of need.