August 4

*The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe. The wealth of the rich is their fortified city; they imagine it an unscalable wall.*

• My friends, these days we’ve all got trouble and anxiety and uncertainty, but more important than any of these is where do we look for help and safety and peace? In his Large Catechism Martin Luther makes the case that to whomever or whatever or wherever we turn indicates who or what has really become our god. He writes, “A god means that from which we are to expect all good and in which we are to take refuge in all distress. So, to have a God is nothing other than trusting and believing Him with the heart. I have often said that the confidence and faith of the heart alone make both God and an idol.”
• Of course our sinful flesh is naturally inclined to look for refuge in tangible and material things here—in family, in government, in doctors, in friends, in science and technology and most certainly in the size of our bank accounts. The old Adam is so near-sighted that he imagines that money is the answer to everything. We think, “If only I had enough money I could buy my way out of any problem, any danger, any sickness. Then I’d be safe!” Now Solomon would not say it’s necessarily sinful or unwise to have a savings account or an emergency fund, rather it’s a matter of where we put our trust. Seeing as Solomon was among the richest, if not THE richest person to have ever lived, he must have had a regular battle raging in his heart against relying on his riches. Likewise, living in the most prosperous society the world has ever seen, you and I are no strangers to the temptation to trust in worldly wealth. But the invulnerability of wealth is just an illusion. On the day of disaster money can’t calm our consciences or cure our cough or protect us from the hurricane.
• Instead the righteous—that is those who have been made “up-right” by faith in the Savior—flee to a totally different place. With our eyes opened by the wisdom of God’s Word we seek safety in the One who is unseen (cf. Heb. 11:1), who is above, whose almighty power easily eclipses that of every army and atomic bomb, for whom no danger, not even death proves inescapable (cf. Daniel ch. 3 and 6 and our Lord’s resurrection). Now more than ever let us run to the LORD and call on his name in prayer, seeking his kingdom come, his will be done, his providence and protection. When we are filled with fear and insecurity by the size of our problems, we should confess our smallness to the LORD and take stock in his Word of promise. If we would turn through the pages of the Old Testament, we would rediscover how our God has never failed those who trust in him. He has always had a wise and perfect and eternal plan; always seen his children through to salvation (cf. Hebrews 11:24-40).

**Lord’s Prayer:** Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours now and forever. Amen.