We are in the midst of a mighty battle, a trial that seems to grind on us, where do we run for strength?  The Lord promises a to be our strong tower, to be our strength when we are weak.  More then once in scripture is the Lord referred to as a Strong Tower (Ps 63:1 , Pr 18:10 ).  A strong tower is a place of refuge, a place where one can retreat to when the battle is rough and the strength has run out to fight any longer.  A strong tower is a place where the battle no longer seems on the doorstep because the walls are strong and resilient to the fight.

How do we know God is our strong tower?  His word tell us so, and He proves Himself faithful to His promises.  His history is evident to us in scripture, and we need only spend time there to know that He has proven Himself faithful over and over again.  Proving it to us in a personal way can be different however.  So how can we know He has proved Himself faithful to us in His promises?

We saw that faithfulness for the first time when we trusted Christ.  He was faithful to His promise to forgive us at that very moment, to do what He had promised through the blood of  Christ.  The very fact that we have the ability to be forgiven through trusting Christ is the proof that He fulfills His promises in a  personal way to each one of us.  From there we need to be reading His word to see what His promises are in order to see how He goes about fulfilling them.  There is the key–to know God’s promises in order to recognize that He is fulfilling them.

We are often fooled into thinking God is not fulfilling His promises to us because we don’t understand what those promises are.  For example, God does not promise us a perfect, trouble free life, where He will swoop in solving all our troubles and sorrows.  What He does however promise is this:  "The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." (Deut. 31:8 NIV).  I know this because He has proven it to me even in small ways.  Like reminding me of a passage from His word I had hidden in my heart when I needed it, in a situation where I could not pick up His word to read it.  God is faithful to this promise, we just need to know the promise to realize He is keeping it!

To understand that God is keeping His promises, including that He is our Strong Tower, we need to know the promises He has made to us.  We need to be in His word, reading those promises.  Strength comes from knowing the promises and seeing them fulfilled because we see the Lord working in our life, despite our situation.  When we see the fulfillment of the promises, even in the smallest of ways, we are renewed in our strength because God is a strong tower,  can withstand the fight and has resilience beyond measure.