The Lord will protect you (by Diane Webb)

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"The Lord will protect you"

Psalms 3: 3

“But thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.”

To cry out to the Lord “thou art my shield” shows a desperate need for protection.  This scripture fully accepts there is danger in our world. Fear is based on peril or likely peril.  Therefore having a “good reason” to fear is not disputed.   We all have “good reason” to fear most every day in one way or another.  It is often we experience risk in our lives.  Who would debate that?  However, with the Lord himself as your shield—your protection—you are protected indeed.  What could be a better cover? Think a moment about a shield.  The only way for a shield to really protect is for you to stand behind it and keep it in front of you.  A shield is placed directly between you and danger.  It really does not work well if it’s lying on the ground beside you (or put on a shelf in the closet).  Keep the image of the Lord standing between you and danger (or perceived danger) as you face the day.  What if you forget to use your shield and fall?  The last part of the scripture “lifter up of my head” brings to mind the image of a soldier lying on the battle field.  The Lord steps forward, kneels down, and places the soldier’s head on His lap offering comfort and guarding him from further harm.  Think of having your head lifted and laid in the Lord’s lap—placed there by His own hands.  Imagine feeling the warm comfort of laying your head there--having fallen in battle, or simply needing rest.  Now, take a look at the middle section of today’s verse.  “The Lord is my glory”.  What does this mean?  According to Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary glory means praise, honor, or distinction.  In other words, the Lord Himself is your validation.  Glory additionally refers to the halo of light often depicted around the head of Christ and saints in the Bible.  In the sense of battle and danger, you can think of this halo of light as a shield around your head which is the most vulnerable area of attack.  So, the picture is complete in this passage and the message is clear.  The battle we are in is real and there is, in fact, danger.  We have a shield for protection which is Christ if we will allow him to.  We are further protected by the glory of Christ about our head when we accept and, finally, we can rest our head in the lap of God Himself when we become weary or if we are wounded because we chose not to use our shield.  What a wonderful Savior and what a wonderful shield!

Dear heavenly father, help me today to remember you are my shield, my glory, and the lifter up of my head; I fully accept Lord.  Please give me the confidence to face the battles before me today and trust you to protect, honor, and comfort me as your word says.  I ask in the name of Jesus Christ, your son, Amen.

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