Nahum 1:7 (KJV)

What does this mean?

Nahum is a prophet warning the city of Nineveh that judgment is coming, but this verse is the comfort side of his message. He says God is good, a strong hold — an old phrase for a fortress, a safe place to run to — on a day of trouble. And he adds that God knows the people who put their trust in him; they are not strangers to him.

What does this teach us?

God is both good and strong. The verse holds two truths together: his goodness is the reason you can trust him, and his strength is the reason you are safe when you do — and he knows you personally, not as a crowd, but as his own.

How can we apply this?

When trouble comes, run to the strong hold instead of running in circles. Tell God plainly what frightens you, rest in the truth that he is good, and remember that he knows you — you are not forgotten or faceless to him.

Related KJV passages

• “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”

  Psalm 46:1

• “The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower.”

  Psalm 18:2

• “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”

  Isaiah 41:10