Psalm 3

A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son

1 O Lord, how many are my foes!
   Many are rising against me;
2 many are saying of my soul,
  “There is no salvation for him in God.”     Selah

3 But you, O Lord, are a shield about me,
  my glory, and the lifter of my head.
4 I cried aloud to the Lord,
  and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah

5 I lay down and slept;
I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.
6 I will not be afraid of many thousands of people
  who have set themselves against me all around.

7 Arise, O Lord!
Save me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;
you break the teeth of the wicked.

8 Salvation belongs to the Lord;
your blessing be on your people! Selah

*Selah: The meaning of the Hebrew word Selah, used frequently in the Psalms, is uncertain. It may be a musical or liturgical direction.

This is one of my favorite verses in the bible.

Though “Many were saying of [David], “God will not deliver him” [PS 3:2], and that there was no help for him from God while he faced his enemies, David knew that God was his shield. David wasn’t also praying for God to be his shield, but rather declaring a fact that the Lord is the “shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high…” [PS 3:3] While this statement is so simple, it carries so much weight and power. David was so certain and knew that God was his shield, and when he called out to the Lord, He answered David from His holy hill.

There are so many times when I wonder if God is really a shield about me. I feel that through periods of His silence, through the valleys of life, God exposes me to my sins and hardships rather than protecting me from them. While I recognize that the exposure of my sins leads to repentance, to a path of a transformed life, and through His silence and challenges of life, I learn how to walk by faith, to be patient, and to trust Him—it is so hard. I selfishly only want to dwell in His peace and get anxious that He will take away His goodness and His sweet peace from me: because I am unworthy of His goodness and His love.

But I am reminded of Job; “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. 10 “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11 But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.” [JOB 1:9-11]

When I doubt if God is really a shield around me, I need to remember to be patient and to persevere through faith, knowing that He is good and He is faithful. When I face challenges and trials, instead of feeling silenced or wondering why, to trust in Him and know that He is the ultimate creator.

2 “I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted. 3 You asked, ‘Who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge?’ Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.” [JOB 42:2-4]

Also, David “calls out to the Lord,” He calls out to the Lord. Often times when I face troubles, I find myself not calling out to the Lord. Especially these past couple of months of post-grad, I found myself stuck—I feel like a gear that is jammed; like I am stuck in quicksand and I feel like I need something to push me out of the sand rather than to pull me out. And I want to turn to God for this: my procrastination, laziness, and my state of inability; I feel like through this time God is teaching me discipline, and reminding me to lean on to Him and call out (not just think) to Him for strength and guidance.

7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? 8 If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! 10 They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. 12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13 “Make level paths for your feet,” so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed. [HEB 12:7-13]

I want to trust and love Him fully rather than trying to figure things out on my own (which isn’t working out so well anyway). I don’t want to be where I am right now in a year—the same thing I told myself last summer and God has truly shown me His glory and goodness throughout the past year—knowing His faithfulness, I want to seek, trust, and have confidence in our Lord as David did.

14 “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. 15 He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. 16 With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.” [PS 91:14-16]

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