A Word from God's Word

“The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.”

Proverbs 18:10

HOW WONDERFUL it would be to be safe from all those things that fill up our greatest fears! Here in Proverbs 18:10, the name of the LORD–God Himself– is promised to be such a safe place. Let’s consider this wonderful truth by asking questions of the text.

First, safe from what? We may be fearful of many things, but Prov 18:10 is not a guarantee against all troubles that may come at us in this world. In fact, Scripture makes clear that the life of the believer is not a “rose garden”. Rather, “difficult is the way which leads to life” (Matthew 7:14). No, this “strong tower” is not immunity against all the difficulties of life. Rather, it is to be safe from God’s judgment of sin. It is not a guarantee of unalloyed ease in this life, but of unending joy in the life to come.

Second, who is the righteous one? This is an important question, as last week in this space, we noted that no one is righteous in themself. Instead, the only way that we can be called righteous by God is to be clothed in Christ’s perfect righteousness. By trusting in Him, His righteousness becomes ours.

Which leads to the final question: how do we run into that strong tower? By faith. Ironically, we are safe from God’s judgment of our sin, not by running from God but by running to Him. In faith, we run to Christ, and cling to Him… and we are safe in that strong tower.

Pastor Craig publishes  "A Word from God's Word" weekly in the "Kootenay News Advertiser".