One of the verses from the Psalms that has been put into modern song. It is a beautiful song because it is a beautiful verse. This verse came from a lament of David’s when he was being pursued by his own son, Absalom. How tragic a moment in life when your own child rebels against you, even to the point of threatening your life. How terrible the hurt and pain for David. How terrible it must be for God when his children, you and I, rebel against him.

What is it like when family or friends turn against us? How alone and desperate we would feel. David’s enemies scoffed that even God would not save him. David closed his ears to such talk. David was not a perfect man by his own admittance. He was very conscious of his sins and often prayed for forgiveness. He knew God to be a God of mercy and grace, and he knew it firsthand.  In this verse, David mentions three important things for us to remember about God who is our father.

One, God is a shield who surrounds us. He is a wall of protection. Nothing in this world can penetrate the shield of God. Another way for the Christian to look at it is the expression, “Safe in the arms of Jesus.” Let the storms of life come, we are safe behind God’s shield.

Two, God is our glory. We need to remember that we have no glory of our own, but we still live in glory, God’s glory.  It is enough to be in the shadow of his wing. It is our honor to try to add to God’s glory by giving Him the glory for all good things in this world. We don’t really deserve glory, and so we don’t need it because we share in God’s glory.

Three, God is the lifter of our heads. What a thought. Fleeing in desperation and fear David relies on God for encouragement and strength. When our heads are low, God lifts them up. God will not let us stay sad or discouraged, He is the lifter of our heads. Don’t look down, David is saying, look up. Don’t look around you at the demons, look up to the God of heaven. Feeling depressed, let God be the lifter of your head.

Task for Today: Memorize this verse. Repeat it often. Live in its promise and truthfulness. Share it with the depressed and sad. Let it become your mantra, start your day with it and let it be in the back of your mind during the trials of the day.