WHEN YOU'RE SURROUNDED BY TROUBLES

BUT YOU, LORD, ARE A SHIELD AROUND ME, MY GLORY, THE ONE WHO LIFTS MY
HEAD HIGH. PSALM 3:3 (NIV)

Troubles seem to come in waves in our lives. There
are periods of relative calm and then suddenly
problems are all around.

King David certain understood this feeling when he wrote the third
Psalm. There he recounts how he feels at a low point in his life. He
says that many are wishing him harm and still more speak wishfully of
his destruction. He is, in effect, facing troubles and problems on
every side.

The third verse is the pivot point in the Psalm. There he says that
despite all this, God is there for him and goes on to describe how God
helps him during this difficult time. We too can learn from David's
time of trouble.

• WHEN TROUBLED REMEMBER GOD IS YOUR SHIELD

David first tells us that God is a shield. He understands that God is
protecting him and that the Lord can save him from anything…even waves
of troubles.

The word used here for shield has two meanings. The first refers to a
traditional shield and reminds us that God will protect us from the
arrows and attacks of the troubles we face. He will absorb the damage
and deflect the blows. He will put Himself between us and harm and
stop the onslaught before it reaches us. We may feel the force of the
impact on the other side of the shield but we will suffer no harm
because He is our great and mighty defender.

The same word also can be used to refer to the armor-like skin of a
crocodile and perhaps God is using this specific word to say that,
beyond protecting us, He will also thicken our skin. He will help us
endure and ultimately shrug off the taunts of the enemy and the many
flaming worries he would cast over the fence into our lives.

• WHEN TROUBLED REMEMBER GOD IS YOUR GLORY

David goes one to say that God is also his glory. Your glory is both
that which you depend upon and that about which you boast. It's your
desire, fuel, and banner.

Many try to find their glory in wealth, beauty, pleasure, or the
esteem of others. All these fail miserably over time and being to
tarnish even as they are achieved. They go from being someone's great
glory to being their great regret. In the end these things are
actually not glorious at all.

God, however, is your all-in-all. He will never leave you and He
cannot fail you. He is your sustenance and the great boast of your
life that you will never regret.

• WHEN TROUBLED REMEMBER GOD IS THE LIFTER OF YOUR HEAD

Lastly David reminds us that God is the lifter of our heads. The Lord
is the one that comes to us no matter how downcast and defeated we may
feel and helps us to look up once again.

People bow their heads for all sorts of different reasons. Some look
down because of shame; some because of fatigue; others due to a lack
of desire to look ahead at what they face. Our wonderful God fixes all
these ailments and more.

He gives grace to the guilty, strength to the weary, and hope to the
hopeless. He is the one that can lift any head no matter the cause.

• WHEN FACED WITH TROUBLES

When faced with troubles look to your great Savior and lean on Him. He
will defend you. He will sustain you. He will give you a great hope
and future.