A huge tower of strength is Jesus to us. He thinks battles and works for us. He makes sure our circumstances ease up as we go through the difficult journey of life. He stands as an unprecedented guarantee for our eternity with the Father. He has formed a special relationship with us, one that is similar to His relationship with the Father. When He was intently praying for us He said, “O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me” (John 17:25). We are not of the world. We were of the world, but have come to know Him as One sent from the Father for our sake. We are not like the rest that did not acknowledge Him.
The first and foremost thing Jesus did for us was reveal Himself to us. He became the one that saves. By grasping it, we knew everything He is to us. He is our peacemaker, comforter, helper, counselor, refuge, provider, protector, vindicator and warrior. All these made Him a huge tower of strength to us. It is by these we realized He came from the Father. Can there be anyone better we might ask for?! The disciples with Peter being the first admitted He is the Christ. While others were saying He was Elijah, John the Baptist or one of the prophets the disciples had a clear cut idea of Him; similarly, the women and the others that loved Him. Their confession was not based on hearsay, but on that which He became for them. To belong to Him indicates seeing Him each day as a huge tower of strength. In weaknesses, faults, troubles and joy we must be able to see Him as our greatest strength. Then life in its totality will be visible to us from heavenly viewpoint.
Jesus vouches to the Father that we know Him to have come from the Father. By it we have relation with God. In vouching He marks us as the children of the Father. We know it by witnessing Him as our tower of strength in functioning faith. This is confidence for life and proves on an ongoing basis that He is thinking, battling and working for us. The apostle said, “Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air” (1 Cor. 9:26). Paul knew (strongly believed) he had back up. He wanted to win the race. He knew his victories are stored in Jesus, the tower of incredible strength. He knew his purpose for Him. He knew he can stand up for faith (fight the good fight), knowing he can draw everything for it from Jesus. When our focus regarding God is right, we win every time we encounter battles. If an athlete wishes to win, he or she takes every good thing into their body and if a Christian wishes to win in life, he or she needs to take Christ, the one who has everything.
There is no magic wand to draw from Christ except a sure way. Paul was sure enough to call believers to this action. “Therefore I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and dissension” (1 Tim. 2:8). This is the key to having Jesus as a huge tower of strength. After we have known Him from the Word, to draw from Him requires seeking Him. It is not just praying that is needed, but also attention to the manner it is done. It demands self-control and boldness. It calls for complete acknowledgment of His inevitability. By praying on a daily basis we acquire a quiet spirit for self-control and the conviction of receiving from Jesus for boldness.
What goes on with the whole praying act? The apostle said, “For I was very glad when brethren came and testified to your truth, that is, how you are walking in truth” (3 John 1:3). To have a precious commodity is not good enough until one knows how to use and protect it. Wisdom to work with it brings unmatched success. Likewise, to be walking in the truth is possible only by the act of praying. Because many do not actually spend quality time with God in solitude, they are distant to the truth of the gospel and miss the huge tower of strength that is Christ. They believe that truth is acquired by reading or reciting the Word. All it does is scratch the surface. Besides, how often can they read it for their personal development in Christ and not do it just for a given moment? It is for this reason there are many that cannot preach, teach or understand the Word in truth. The interest to meditate on the Word and the subsequent work of the indwelling Spirit is born from praying. Lack of surrendering act to God gives Satan a staggering opportunity to tune minds to his liking. When Christ’s strength is not in them, he will mold the Word they read to his liking. Again, the strength to relentlessly walk in the truth lies in habitual praying. Therefore, if one claims to know Christ, it must imply they know Him as sent by the Father.
It is necessary a person knows his or her stand in Christ. It is first for their sake and then for the sake of others whom God gives them. If they know Jesus as sent by the Father, they are in the clear. Paul confidently said, “I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience the way my forefathers did, as I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day” (2 Tim. 1:3). Clear conscience is a palpable consequence of having Jesus as a huge tower of strength. It is a mind without hypocrisy, fallacy, foolishness, ignorance, human rationale and rigidity. If one is unwilling to lean on the strength of Christ, he or she is confused and is acting on self-interests or in the interest of others. Since their conscience is blurred, it becomes evident that Jesus has not vouched for them before the Father.
A simple formula to possess Jesus as a huge tower of strength is the following. “But if anyone loves God, he is known by Him” (1 Cor. 8:3). We ought to love God more than anything, anyone and even ourselves. This is an old statement, but one that has never changed nor will change for Jesus to become everything to us. Can you set aside all your desires, thoughts and things and love God fully? Then you can see Jesus becoming everything to you. You will know He has vouched for you before the Father for eternity. All that you set aside God will take and cleanse and give them back to you with more dimensions attached.
Moreover, many elusive questions and bothering situations will have answers. “And His disciples asked Him, ‘Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?’” (John 9:2). We know what Jesus said and subsequently did. He showed that His presence is enough to give a dire situation a good and viable outcome. By providing answers He further empowers us to guard all God entrusted to us; for there will be no need for empty talk and unnecessary arguments, but Christ working out all matters. God keeps adding into our custody the things that are precious to Him. Our lifestyle and demeanor becomes very valuable to Him in that in every walk of our life He calls us for His pleasure. So, be sure to know that Christ has vouched for you before the Father so you have life from heavenly viewpoint.