The Strong Tower

Did you ever see the movie “Tangled”? It’s about Rapunzel. At the beginning of the movie, Rapunzel is trapped in a very tall tower way out in the forest. Her mother (actually just an evil witch) is the one who trapped her there—telling her that it’s for her own good, to keep her safe. The rest of the movie is about Rapunzel gaining her freedom. 

I took my kids to see that movie when it first came out, and I totally understood the point of the storyline. I knew the witch was manipulative, controlling and bad, and I knew Rapunzel needed to be free. But that’s not the main thing I was thinking as I watched the movie. No, I kept thinking, “I wouldn’t mind if my husband and I and our kids lived in a tower like that.” I know that’s not what I was supposed to think while watching that movie, but I couldn’t help it. It sounded nice—all of us living in that tower. Sure, the kids would get bored and we’d all miss our friends and get tired of one another sometimes. But over all it still sounded okay to me, because it offered protection from the potentially frightening, unknown variables that lurked in the future.

There’s a Bible verse in Proverbs that describes a wise woman. It says, “She smiles at the future.” Surely smiling at the future is only wise if you’re looking at something strong and true—something that cannot and will not ever fail. Mostly, the future is full of uncertainty. I wouldn’t naturally smile at that. I think I’d more likely squint at it. “She squints at the future” has a very different ring to it though. 

God is steady and true in the past, present and future. When I look forward into the unknown, there is One thing I can trust, and that’s Him. And when I remember that, I do smile. I’m guessing the wise woman in Proverbs was smiling at Him too. It’s the only thing that makes sense. 

Psalm 61:3 describes the Lord as a strong tower and a refuge. So, although the future is veiled from my sight, no matter what circumstances come, God will always be my strong tower. Isn’t that wonderful? And I experience freedom from fear when I rest in Him.

~Amy