Today’s Reading: 2 Samuel 15 & Psalm 3
Merry
Christmas to you from ‘A Word from the Word.’ May the True Spirit of Christmas
shine in your heart and light your path today and through the upcoming year.
In
Psalm 3, we read the words of king David as he is fleeing from his son,
Absalom. This Psalm starts out with a sense of foreboding as David is tempted
by others to focus his attention on the deep problems he is facing. Can you
feel his worry as he says, “Many are my foes”? Can you sense his despair as he
says, “Many are rising against me”? Do you get the feeling that the world
around him is telling him to give up hope as he writes, “Many are saying of my soul, there is no
salvation for him in God”?
But the Psalm doesn’t
end there! In verse 3, David soundly rejects the world’s advice and turns his
eyes back onto the God he loves. He wisely realizes that his help and salvation
come from the LORD in this situation just as it has in every other situation.
“But you, O Lord, are a shield about
me.” The shield was a
defensive weapon used by soldiers. It’s purpose was to cover and defend the
body from the strikes of the enemy. David here acknowledges that God is his Defender
and Protector. What a joy to know that our Lord will stand between us and our
adversaries, taking the blows and keeping us safe. I am safe when the Lord
wraps around me like a shield.
“You are… my glory.” The
Hebrew word for “glory” means honor, splendor, dignity, reputation. It carries
the idea of majesty and magnificence. David, here, acknowledges that whatever
glory there may be that comes from his life, it is not because of his own
magnificence or self-doing. The glory of David’s life, and our lives as
followers of Christ, comes solely from the One who is Most Glorious. Knowing
this takes a lot of pressure off of David and us. It means that, no matter what
happens, no one can take away the glory of my life because it isn’t about me,
it is about Him!
“You are… the lifter of my head.” When
the voices of the world start to get to us, we can start feeling down and we
are tempted to look inward at our own weaknesses and failures. When we look
away from God, we can get discouraged or even depressed. When this happens, it
can actually have an effect on our body posture. Often unknowingly, our
shoulders can bend forward and hunched over, and our head takes a
downward-looking posture. It is a sign that we are “weighed down” by our
challenges and troubles. David here declares emphatically that, in these
situations, the Lord is the lifter of his head. He is the One who can turn our
downward posture back into an upward-looking, optimistic and faith-filled
position. As He lifts the burden from our shoulders, our head turns back up and
the joy of salvation once again fills our heart. The problems are still with
us, but Someone Else is carrying the load and lifting our head!
May the Lord be your Shield, your Glory, and the Lifter of
your head this Christmas Day!
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