The Safest Place You Will Ever Find

When life feels uncertain, God invites us to bring every burden, worry, and unanswered prayer into His care. In this powerful devotion, Dianna Hobbs unpacks Proverbs 18:10 and reveals the safety, strength, and refuge found in the name of Jesus.

This spring, two familiar visitors came back to our yard.

A little backstory first.

For a couple of years now, Canada geese have been showing up around our property, and I have grown to love watching them. Canada geese look like they got dressed for a formal event but still decided to live outside.

With their brown bodies, black necks, and bright white cheek patches, they are hard to miss. When they graze, they spend most of their time with their heads down, pulling at the grass. But the moment they become alert, those long black necks stretch straight up like periscopes. Suddenly, they look bigger, taller, and far more intimidating.

My youngest son, Kaleb, is responsible for my adoration of geese. He loves animals, and that love is contagious.

It took me a minute to come around, though. Canada geese are not exactly tidy neighbors. They leave droppings all over the grass, the sidewalk, and just about anywhere else they happen to wander.

At first, I found it annoying. But somewhere along the way, my heart softened. I knew I had crossed a line when I stopped complaining about the poop and bought a goose pooper scooper.

Yes. A goose pooper scooper.

Once I made that purchase, I had to admit I was invested.

***

I grew up on the East Side of Buffalo, an inner-city kid. Seeing wildlife was not really a thing. The closest I got was a dog tied up outside or a trip to the zoo. But now our family lives in the suburbs, with a creek running through the neighborhood, so Kaleb sees deer near the yard and egrets down by the water.

He is usually the first to notice when they show up and is often ready with his camera, trying to capture their beauty in real time.

So recently, when our adorable geese showed back up, Kaleb recognized them instantly and squealed.

We had affectionately named them Howdy and Doody. And no, Doody was not named for the droppings.

Ha!

This time, though, they weren't alone.

Behind them waddled a gosling, a little uncoordinated puffball of yellowish-brown fuzz with oversized feet, trying its best to keep up with its parents.

Instantly, the whole family fell in love.

Our daughters, Kyla and Kaiah, named the fuzzy little gosling Ryan, after the actor Ryan Gosling.

We all burst out laughing.

I have to admit, that was pretty clever.

Imagine our delight when the trio kept coming back, wandering through the front yard and backyard, grazing on the grass like they owned the place.

"They must like us," I said to Kaleb. "There's no way they'd bring the baby with them if they didn't."

Naturally, I rushed off to do some research to confirm my suspicions and make sure I wasn't just flattering myself.

I wasn't.

What I learned made those visits even more meaningful.

Canada geese are fiercely protective. They do not bring a gosling somewhere they perceive danger. They only bring their babies where they have decided it is safe.

We were one of those places.

That did something to me.

***

Early on, before we understood geese, Kaleb and I got a little too close, and they let us know it. They hissed, honked, flapped their wings, stretched their necks, and started marching toward us with purpose.

We took off running. We ran into the house so fast, huffing, puffing, and laughing hysterically.

Lesson learned.

From then on, we gave them space. We respected their boundaries and admired them from a distance. And they kept coming back. Eventually, they trusted us enough to bring Ryan, my grand-goose.

That is the part I cannot get past.

Howdy and Doody had decided our yard was a place of safety. A place where the thing most precious to them could be out in the open and still be secure.

They didn't just find a place to eat.

They brought what they were built to protect.

As I sat with that, I felt the Lord nudging my heart. Because if I'm honest, I saw myself in Howdy and Doody.

Every one of us has a gosling.

Maybe it's a child. Maybe it's a marriage. Maybe it's your health, your finances, a dream God placed in your heart, or a season of healing you are trying desperately to protect.

We all have something precious that we carry carefully. Something we watch over. Something we deeply care about.

The geese challenged me because they did not spend their days anxiously hovering over Ryan. They brought him to a place they trusted.

And that made me think: Do I really trust God that way? Do I trust Him enough to bring Him the things I am most protective of? Do I trust Him enough to place my children in His hands, my future in His hands, my unanswered prayers in His hands, and my deepest concerns in His hands?

As I pondered those questions, the Lord brought Proverbs 18:10 to mind: "The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run into it, and are safe."

***

I have read that verse many times over the years. I have quoted it, prayed it, and encouraged others with it. But sitting there thinking about Howdy, Doody, and little Ryan, I saw it differently.

A strong tower is not just something you admire from a distance. It is a place you trust enough to bring what is precious to you.

When Solomon wrote those words, everyone knew exactly what a strong tower was. It was the watchtower built into the city wall, the highest and strongest point in the city. When danger came, people did not run away from the tower. They ran toward it. It was built for the day trouble showed up. The righteous, Solomon says, run there because they know protection is sure.

But there is something else in this verse that captured my attention.

Notice what Solomon does not say. He does not say the Lord is a strong tower. He says the name of the Lord is a strong tower.

Solomon could have said God is a strong tower and left it there, and he would have been right. Instead, he put the emphasis on the name.

In Scripture, a name is never just a label. The Hebrew word is shêm (SHAYM), and it carries the whole weight of a person: character, authority, reputation, and power.

Everything God is stands behind everything God does.

That means when Solomon says the name is the tower, he is telling us something profound. The safety is in the name because the power is in the Person behind it.

***

This strong tower is not just any old slab of stone.

David said, "The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer" (Psalm 18:2). And Paul tells us plainly, "that Rock was Christ" (1 Corinthians 10:4).

So the strong tower has a name.

Jesus.

He is the Rock that cannot be moved, the fortress that cannot be breached, and the refuge that cannot fail. When you call on His name, you are not hoping a hiding place appears. You are running into the One who has been your place of safety since before the foundation of the world.

The safe place is in the name.

The refuge is in the name.

Jesus is the name above every name.

Knowing that brings me back to Howdy, Doody, and little Ryan. They did not just find a safe place. They trusted it enough to bring what was most precious to them.

That is what God is asking of us. Not simply to believe He is a strong tower, but to trust Him enough to bring our gosling, the very thing we most want to protect, inside. Many of us praise the tower from the outside while keeping our gosling clutched tightly to our chest.

But God is inviting you to stop carrying it and place it in His care. Trust Him enough to cast your cares upon Him, for He cares for you (1 Peter 5:7).

Trust Him enough not to lean on your own understanding, but to acknowledge Him in all your ways, knowing that He will direct your paths (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Trust Him enough to call on His name in the time of trouble, confident that safety will be found in Him.

The safest place you will ever find is the name of Jesus.

To remind you of this truth, I am stirring Psalm 46:1 as the sweetener in your cup, which says, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."

As you drink down the contents of your cup, hear what the Lord is saying:

"Bring the thing you have been guarding to Me."

Friend, He sent me to tell you that He wants you to bring the burden that feels too heavy to carry. Bring the worry that keeps you awake at night. Bring the situation you cannot fix.

Step back.

Stand still.

See the salvation of the Lord.

Jesus is saying even now, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matthew 11:28).

Now, let's pray.

God, thank You for reminding me that Your name is a strong tower and that I need only call on You and You will be there. Today, I make the choice to surrender the things I have tried to manage in my own strength and trust You with what matters most to me. Thank You for being my Rock, my refuge, and my place of safety.

And it is in the matchless name of Jesus I pray. Amen.