Psalm 3:3 (ESV) But you, O
LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.
This has been one of my
favorite images of God for a long, long time. I have always pictured our Father
as one that would come to the aid of the downtrodden; the underdog, the one
that seemingly was out of the race. One of the first things that happens when we
sense that failure is about to be the result is that we drop our head. Watch
the sidelines at a football game. When the other team scores what is most
likely the winning touchdown every head on the sideline drops in
disappointment. There is no longer the expectation of winning.
Life is hard. Life has times
that are called “troubles” for a reason. When it seems that there is nowhere
else to go, The Lifter of My Head comes and gives new hope. One vivid example
of this is in the life of Abram, later known as Abraham. When God first came to
Abram and presented His plan of a son, God gave Abram a visual aid. He said,
“Abram, your offspring will be as the sands on the seashore.” Years passed and
no son.
God came to Abram again,
this time giving him a new name: Abraham – Father of a multitude. God also gave
him a new visual aid as well. God asked, “Can you count the stars? So shall be your
offspring.” Abraham started looking upward. God had “lifted His head” to see
the possibilities that faith can produce. (You can find the whole story in
Genesis 14-18)
Another picture of God being
The Lifer of My Head is in the story of the woman caught in the very act of
adultery. (John 8) It is said that the religious leaders of the day brought the
woman to Jesus to see what He would have them do with her. The Law required her
to be stoned, but they had heard Jesus’ teaching on love and forgiveness.
After pondering the
situation Jesus spoke up and said, “He that is without sin cast the first
stone.” One by one, the multitude left the scene until only Jesus and the woman
remained. Jesus then asked the woman, “Where are your accusers? Has no one
condemned you?” She replied, “No one, Lord.”
Jesus then said, “Neither do
I. Go, and sin no more.” He had just lifted her head, given her hope of a
better day. I’m sure in that moment, especially when they brought her to Jesus,
the shame and ridicule that she endured was horrifying. She probably wanted to
die. But after the encounter with Jesus, she left, able to hold her head up and
look for a new possibility at life.
Jesus is still raising heads
today. He still comes to each of us and says, “No one condemns you. Go and sin
no more.” Listen to The Lifer of My Head say these words to you, regardless of
where you are, or where you’ve been. He loves you absolutely, and has redeemed
you completely.
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