But you, O Lord, are a shield about me,
my glory, and the lifter of my head.
Psalm 3:3
David was overwhelmed with life. His son, Absalom, was leading a coup against him. His heart was broken and his kingdom was in jeopardy. He needed protection not just for his kingdom, but for his heart. And in that place of desperation, he found in God the "lifter of his head."
I look to any number of things to "lift my heads" - to give me energy, to give me joy, to make me feel worthwhile and worthy of respect. The things I look to usually remind me of my strength, intelligence, or influence. I like to win.
The problem with this is that the same things that lift my head also make it very, very heavy. When I live by my success, I die by my failure. When I am trying to lift my own head, I am ultimately trying to establish my own glory.
I am trying to be God.
God's glory is my shield, not my own. He has covered me with the glory of his nature and love.
When my head is down, my mind is filled with my own thoughts. Those thoughts are usually prideful (man, I could be, should be, will be better - and people will know it) or shameful (I am a failure, if people only knew the real me). My glory is just not very glorious. But when I allow him to gently reach out and lift my head from my failure, my sorrow, or my shame- when my eyes are lifted from my lack of glory, I am met not with rejection or disappointment. I am met with the glory of love.
Prayer:
Lord, you are glorious, so I don't have to build my own fame or be afraid of its loss. Help me today to rest in your glory - to have my vision filled with your loving acceptance of me in Christ instead of the myriad other things that remind me of my shame and failure. Thank you that you are my shield, my refuge, my glory.
Comments