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This Week’s Scripture & Reflection: Psalm 3:1-3
Sadness can often be identified by a despairing facial expression or a lowered head. It is often times the weight of the pain that we experience that causes our heads to hang low and carry a dejected countenance. And in light of this pain, it can be difficult to lift our heads back up with any sense of hope.
King David knew this feeling all too well! Filled with suppressed anger and resentment towards David his father, Absalom successfully turned the people of Israel against his father (for a short time) in order that he might usurp the throne from David (II Samuel 15). Upon hearing the news of Absalom‘s impending and rapidly growing revolt against him, David and his servants quickly fled Jerusalem, fearing that Absalom and his new army would easily overtake them.
While fleeing Jersualem in order to escape Absalom’s grasp, David writes Psalm 3:
O Lord, how my enemies have increased! Many are rising up against me. Many are saying of me, “There is no help [no salvation] for him in God.” Selah. But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, My glory [and my honor], and the One who lifts my head.
While David’s own failures as a parent may have contributed to Absalom’s betrayal, the pain he experienced from this betrayal nonetheless caused his soul to weep and his head to hang low in despair! Yet David recalled the Lord to mind as his shield, his glory, and the One who lifts his head, recognizing that the Lord lifts his countenance even in the midst of sorrow, especially when David is unable to do so himself!
God’s touch, and even His Word, possess the inherent power to lift us up from any low place and to sustain us in His joy in any circumstance (cf. Nehemiah 8:10). Envision the Lord Himself lifting your weary head and filling you with strength to endure! He knows, He sees, and He cares!