The Lifter of My Head
Scripture
“O Lord, I have so many enemies; so many are against me.
So many are saying, ‘God will never rescue him!’
But you, O Lord, are a shield around me; you are my glory, the one who holds my head high.
I cried out to the Lord, and he answered me from his holy mountain.”
Psalm 3:1–4 (NLT)
Psalm 3 opens with David on the run from his own son, Absalom. He is overwhelmed, outnumbered, and deeply wounded. His world has fallen apart, and his enemies are convinced that even God has abandoned him. Yet in the middle of this pain, David doesn’t hide how he feels. He brings it honestly to the Lord. Scripture never pretends that faith means the absence of struggle. In fact, some of God’s most faithful servants have walked through seasons of deep darkness.
Mother Teresa was one of them. After her death, her private letters revealed that for decades she lived with a painful sense of God’s absence. She wrote of longing for God so deeply that it hurt, of feeling empty and unwanted, of heaven seeming to mean nothing to her. And yet she kept serving the poorest of the poor, and she kept holding on to God. In one of those letters she wrote:
“Pray for me please that I keep smiling at Him in spite of everything. For I am only His, so He has every right over me.”¹
- Mother Teresa
Like David, she didn’t pretend. She named her darkness and kept clinging to God anyway. And Scripture reminds us that we never walk through those seasons alone. David moves from fear to confidence when he says, “But you, O Lord, are a shield around me.” God hasn’t stepped away. He is protecting David and surrounding him with His presence, even when everything feels fragile. Then David adds something deeply personal. God is “the one who holds my head high.” These are the words of someone who has been crushed and knows that God Himself is the One who lifts him back up.
So when you find yourself struggling, weighed down, or unsure of what God is doing, take your cue from David. Bring your fears, questions, and discouragement honestly before the Lord. Cry out to Him. He hears every word, and He is closer than you think. Even when you cannot feel His presence, He surrounds you like a shield. When you can’t raise your own head, let Him lift it for you, and trust Him to steady your heart again.
Reflection
- Where are you feeling pressure or uncertainty, and how does knowing God is your shield bring comfort?
- Is there an area of your life where you sense God inviting you to be more honest with Him in prayer?
- Who in your life might need your encouragement to look up and remember God’s faithfulness?
Prayer
Tell the Lord where you feel weak or overwhelmed, and ask Him to be your shield and the lifter of your head. Thank Him for His nearness, even when you do not feel it, and pray for the strength to trust Him in every circumstance.
Footnote
¹ Mother Teresa, Mother Teresa: Come Be My Light: The Private Writings of the “Saint of Calcutta,” ed. Brian Kolodiejchuk (New York: Doubleday, 2007).
