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Daily Devotion: Psalm 3:1-3

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Psalm 3:1-3     "LORD, how are they increased that trouble me! many are they that rise up against me.  (2)  Many there be which say of my soul, There is no help for him in God. Selah.  (3)  But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head."

Do you ever feel like you cannot take one more "ounce" of pressure?  Does it seem like every time you turn around, you are hit with bad news? I remember a time when I dreaded hearing the phone ring. It seemed wave after wave of bad news kept flooding against me.  We live in a world where struggles and trials are an everyday situation.  David wrote this particular Psalm when his own son, Absalom, rose up against him.  He had all the problems of being the king of Israel with outside enemies coming against him and then to top it off, his own son was determined to overthrow him. "LORD, how are they increased that trouble me!"

Can you identify with David and his struggles?  Maybe not to the same degree, but we all have trials and tribulations to go through.  We believe in the promises of God and here is one that we might not consider to be in the "top ten" promises given by God. "In the world ye shall have tribulation." (John 16:33)  Yes, that is a promise, a sure thing, that the Lord has told us. There is no escaping troubles in this life. Just as David, some of his struggles were self-inflicted and others were forced upon him.  In those struggles, there are many around us and even sometimes in our own minds that say, "There is no help for him in God."  If we only listen to that portion of the Word of God, we will constantly walk around with our heads drooping down.

"In the world ye shall have tribulation.... There is no help for him in God."  Ah, but after that last phrase, we also see the word, "Selah". That word means, "stop and think about what was just said."  Are we going to listen to those who try to throw us down and keep us down? Or, are we going to stop and think about what the Word of God tells us?  Verse three tells us that God is "the lifter up of mine head."

Think about a scene that is played out daily. A child does something for which he is dreadfully sorry for doing. His head begins to droop down. But a loving mother or father gently places their hand under his chin and lifts his head up to say, "It's going to be okay."  God does that very thing for us in our times of sorrow and sadness.  Yes, "In the world ye shall have tribulation," but here comes the lifting up of the head for Jesus said in that same John 16:33, "In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world."  He spoke these words that we can find peace in Him. Also in those words spoken by David, we know there are those who would try to taunt us with the words,  "There is no help for him in God." BUT... (one of my favorite words of the Bible)... we find the Lord saying to us, "The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me."

When you feel down, understand the Lord hears our cries for help and He is indeed, "the lifter up of mine head."

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