Psalm 3

Reading Psalm 3 this morning, I paused when I got to one of my favorite Bible verses:  “But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.”  Once again I found myself reading a very familiar passage in a new light.  At the beginning of the psalm, David writes of his fears for his life.  Adding to his distress was the fact that his enemy was his own son.  We probably can’t begin to grasp what this was like. How horrid to be a king on the run from his own son!  Hopefully none of us are dealing with such life and death issues. 

In reading this psalm is seems that David was writing these words after a period of fear-filled sleeplessness.  We, too, certainly know sleepless nights when our worries of the day are magnified, causing us to toss and turn.  That’s when I read “my” verse differently.  In the midst of our tossing and turning, worries and anxieties, can we, like David, turn to God with that level of confidence, that deep knowing that God really is a shield for us, our protector? 

After David’s proclamation of God’s sovereign protection, he writes:  “I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me.”  Fear for his life was replaced by the awareness of God’s protection and presence and he slept.  And woke again!  He wasn’t attacked while he slept.  He didn’t have to stay awake and alert, keeping watch because he KNEW his God was watching over him.  He lay down and slept. 

On this third day of this new year, God alone knows our future.  He alone knows the trials and struggles, the joys and celebrations, the sorrows and fears that are ahead. We should resolve to keep this verse close at hand and close to our hearts for the days – and nights – ahead.  Pray and meditate on the words until it becomes as true for us as it was for David so that in the days to come, we can know that God is our shield, our protector; we can lay down and sleep in peace knowing we are in his care. 

At the same time, it’s important to remember that this God is also the one who delights in his children, who exults over us with loud singing (Zeph. 3:17).  Let’s resolve to get to know God as not only our help in trouble but the God who loves us, delights over us and longs to be in relationship with us. Let’s walk out the days of 2014 (and beyond) growing in our knowledge and understanding of God’s presence, his peace, and his love for us.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:7)