Sunday Sermonettes #018
Sin, failures, mistakes, and troubles caused by people who are close to you can cause your head to bow down. You might feel defeated. Sometimes you are burdened by sorrow. Or you can think of any number of reasons that pull you down. It is at such times that you need to think of God, who is the lifter of your head.
Life might bring unexpected reversals of fortunes. Sometimes friends and family can act against you. Those who stood by you in your good days and were loyal to you might change sides quickly. You might be forced to lick your wounds. When everyone and everything seems to turn against you, and your head is bowed down in despair, it is then you need to remember that God is the lifter of your head.
Even when others think that you are finished and there is no fight left in you; know that God is not finished with you yet.
First, he will be a shield around you. You know what that means. It means that God himself will take the hits against you so that you will be protected. It means that he has a stake in your life that no force on earth or hell can disrupt. He has invested in you by the blood of his Son Jesus shed on the cross. He will therefore surround you with help.
Next he will be your glory. You know what that means.
In spite of all the trouble you are going through right now; your value, worth, and significance come from God.
No matter what negatives others are telling about you, no matter how much they shout you are a failure, no matter how firmly they believe that God will not help you anymore, the weight of evidence is on your side. God will come to your help and will be the lifter of your head.
What you should always recall in your mind is that the author of Psalm 3 (where we find the words, “But you … O LORD … lift up my head” ) was going through a great crisis in his life when he wrote these words. His own son was trying to kill him and take over the throne. He had to flee for his life, covering his head, walking barefoot, and being pelted by stones while being cursed by his enemies. Moreover people were saying God will not help King David because he had committed grievous sins.
It was true that he had sinned—adultery and murder. It was true that he had no right to expect help from God. But because he admitted to God saying, “I have sinned against the Lord,” and had sincerely repented of his sins; he found mercy and forgiveness with God. At the same time the troubles he was now going through were the consequences of his sin.
Yet, in spite of his present misery, David had the courage to hope in God. You too can hope in God even when defeated and down. Seek God’s mercy and expect his help. There is no defeat in your life that God cannot bring good out of it.
So David cries out to God for help. He is assured that God will answer him. Therefore even when enemies are closing in on him, he is able to lie down and sleep at night. For his found strength to sustain in his trust in God. And he expressed confidence in God even when tens of thousands are drawn against him in battle on every side.
You too can find consolation in the fact that your deliverance and your salvation does not depend on your goodness but God’s mercy alone. Even when you find yourself in a defeated situation today, lift up your eyes and look to God who is the lifter of your head. He will not leave your head bowed down in shame. He will lift you up. For God delights in showing mercy to those who trust in him.
“Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light. Because I have sinned against him, I will bear the LORD’s wrath, until he pleads my case and establishes my right. He will bring me out into the light; I will see his righteousness.” — Micah 7:8, 9 Bible.
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