The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.
-Proverbs 18:10 (NIV)
The question is: What’s in a name? Well, a lot apparently.
The sheer mention of someone or something’s name can evoke all kinds of thoughts and images, both positive and negative. For example, if you have an older brother/sister you know what I’m talking about. You walk into the first day of class at school and your new teacher says, “Are you so-and-so’s brother/sister? Oh, he/she was one of my BEST students!” Awesome. No pressure now, huh?
Take it to another level: Barak Obama, Brett Farve, Michael Jackson, Oprah Winfrey, Billy Graham. Ask people the first word they think of in response to those names and you’ll get answers from all over the spectrum.
Simply put, names have power. Lots of it.
In Proverbs 18:10, the ever-so-wise Solomon tells us that the mere name of the Lord is a strong tower — a shield, a refuge, a fortress. And that makes sense. If a regular human’s name holds all that weight, good and bad, that comes with it, think of how God’s name would compare. It’s going to be immeasurably more powerful than anything a human could put up against it.
I think it’s interesting that when something traumatic happens, the average person’s immediate response, Christian or not, will be “Oh my God” — a cry for help. Of course, some of the reasoning for that is a cultural thing, and oftentimes it’s even borderline blasphemous. But it still makes me wonder if there’s something deep down inside us, some intrinsic nature, where we simply know that there are times in our lives when being in God’s presence is the only sure thing, the only truly safe place for us in times of sorrow. In other words, it’s almost as if we were designed that way…
So, what do we do when “the storms of life are raging” (to quote the Kutless song on this very verse)? We run to him, the strong tower. How beautiful it is to know that the Lord’s name provides all the safety we need.
