Strong tower
The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the [consistently] righteous man [upright and in right standing with God] runs into it and is safe, high [above evil] and strong. –[AMP] Proverbs 18:10
The defense readiness condition (DEFCON) is an alert state used by the United States Armed Forces. It prescribes five graduated levels of readiness (or states of alert) for the U.S. military and increases in severity from DEFCON 5 (least severe) to DEFCON 1 (most severe) to match varying military situations.
- DEFCON 1 – Nuclear war is imminent
- DEFCON 2 – Next step to nuclear war
- DEFCON 3 – Increase in force readiness above that required for usual readiness
- DEFCON 4 – Increased intelligence watch and strengthened security measures
- DEFCON 5 – Lowest state of readiness
I believe this parallels our spiritual life and warfare in many ways. If you think about it, there are DEFCON 5 situations in our life that seemingly will not require immediate attention and can be handled as time permits. But there are times when our spiritual DEFCON level increases to 1, and there must be a direct response to the imminent situation. Our adversary Satan will send conditions into our lives in all levels of spiritual DEFCON because that is a good strategy. However, we should never ignore DEFCON 5 attacks because if unaddressed, they can still, over time, cause problems.
Take us the foxes, the little foxes, that spoil the vines: for our vines have tender grapes. –Song 2:15
When those DEFCON 1 attacks are sent into our lives, it is easy to become fearful. Let us be honest here for one moment and put our self-image on the shelf. Sometimes, the attack is so swift and precisely targets a weakness that we can initially feel overwhelmed, and the situation grips our minds with fear. This is not sinning and does not show the Lord we do not trust him to deliver us. Now, if this fear becomes chronic, there may be a problem, but fear, by definition, is a response that can arise after the perception of danger.
When these initial moments move into our minds, it can be challenging to formulate what we should do next. In these moments, we need to call upon the name of the Lord. The word “Lord” in our text above means the “self-existent, eternal name of God.” His name stands on its own and needs no help on any level. His name is impenetrable, and there is no safer place than in His name. The scripture instructs us that when we are under elevated levels of attack, we need to RUN into His name, and we are SAFE!
