The Lifter of My Head
It’s likely that some of you feel like you barely made it through the holidays. It was your first year without a loved one around the table. The unwanted divorce loomed on the horizon. Unemployment kept you from buying those extra presents for your kids. Sickness canceled your travel plans to see family and friends. Mistletoe was a painful reminder of unwanted singleness. And you feel like you entered 2026 crawling instead of cruising. You longed for everyone to pack up the Christmas decorations and for the New Year to begin so that everyone would return to some kind of normal rhythm. And yet, if you’re honest, a new calendar year didn’t cure your suffering. In fact, it feels like you can barely lift your head off your pillow and get out of bed. If any of this resonates with you, let Psalm 3 comfort your weary heart today.
The Enemy’s Taunt
Your prayers lately may sound like David’s, “O LORD, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me; many are saying of my soul, ‘There is no salvation for him in God’” (Psalm 3:1-2). David had awakened to the day of all days to be dreaded. Still feeling the shame of his sins of adultery and murder (see 2 Sam. 11), David now faced another enemy. His own son, Absalom, was trying to deceitfully and manipulatively take the kingdom from him. So David, the king of Jerusalem, the man after God’s own heart, had fled the city weary, discouraged, barefoot and weeping. This was not an overreaction. David was as good as dead. And yet David knew something Absalom didn’t understand. The Lord was on David’s side. God had promised David a position as king, a place in Jerusalem, peace during his reign, and progeny to fill an eternal throne (see 2 Sam. 7). Wisely, on his darkest day, in the miserable morning hour, David turned to the Lord, the covenant-maker and covenant-keeper. With the enemy taunting him on every side, even questioning his salvation, David found himself in a full blown battle against the seed of the serpent. Thankfully, his trust was in the covenant Lord who had promised the Seed of the woman, Jesus Christ (Gen. 3:15).
Today may or may not be your darkest, but surely you can relate to David’s misery, or you know someone who can. You know what it is to be weary and discouraged. You know what it’s like to have someone deceive or manipulate you. But do you know the wisdom of turning to the Lord in the middle of it? Jesus came to save us from His and our enemies—the devil, the world, our own flesh. His salvation is certain. When doubts arise from within and taunters from without, don’t be deceived. Nothing “will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:39). The foes that are against you are weaker than the God who is for you. “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (16:20).
The Enemy’s Defeat
The turning point of David’s lament begins with verse 3, “But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory and the lifter of my head.” The Lord, his shield, took the flaming arrows of deceit, manipulation, and taunting on his behalf. The Lord was also his glory. No amount of shame that others heaped upon him could stain his name. Furthermore, the Lord lifted his head so that it would not droop in despair and discouragement. When our eyes are on our king they can’t be on our calamities. David’s eyes were riveted to the King of kings and his voice “cried aloud to the LORD” who “answered…from his holy hill” (v. 4). Don’t miss that. Our prayers don’t hit the ceiling and drop back down. They don’t drift into space never to return. They reach to the highest and holiest hill and God answers. Think about that. The Lord of all the earth hears your cries and answers you. That should calm and quiet your heart in the dark.
But that’s not all. God doesn’t just hear and answer His people. There’s more good news. Your testimony can be that of David’s, “I lay down and slept; I woke again, for the LORD sustained me. I will not be afraid of many thousands of people who have set themselves against me all around” (Psalm 3:5-6). We really can sleep in heavenly peace. And then we can get up, not letting depression get the upper hand. We don’t have to pull the covers back over our head at morning light. The Lord will sustain us, day and night.
David was not timid in his prayers. He heralded the battle cry of Israel (see Num. 10:33-36), “Arise, O LORD! Save me, O my God! For you strike all my enemies on the cheek; you break the teeth of the wicked.” Just as the Lord delivered Israel so often from their enemies, David knew He had the power to save him from his enemies. And he had the courage to call upon Him to do so. Do you?
It is Jesus who has risen and struck all our enemies on the cheek. He has accomplished our salvation. We can rise today, no matter the trial or tribulation, and with eyes turned toward the Lord we can trust Him to rise to our aid.
