Shield and Glory
"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 3:3-4
Sometimes I cry out to God and I don't hear an answer. Nothing. Absolute. Silence.
It lasts long enough for me to question, why am I not hearing from God?
Am I praying for the outcome I want--what I think is right?
"There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death."
Proverbs 14:12, 16:25
Jesus taught us to pray...
"May Your Kingdom come soon May Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven." Matthew 6:10
Beside that, His way is better than mine.
"My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,' says the LORD. 'And My ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9
Am I praying with the right motive?
"People may be pure in their own eyes, but the LORD examines their motives." Proverbs 16:2
Am I holding sin in my heart? That's a real impediment to God even hearing my prayers.
"Listen! The LORD's arm is not too weak to save you, nor is His ear too deaf to hear you call. It's your sins that have cut you off from God. Because of your sins, He has turned away and will not listen anymore." Isaiah 59:1-2
David wasn't a perfect man. When he wrote Psalm 3 he was running for his life from his son. Absalom had turned enough people against his father and thought he had the power and influence to replace him as king. In the beginning verses, David's eyes were on his circumstances.
"O LORD, I have so many enemies; so many are against me. So many are saying, 'God will never rescue him!" Psalm 3:1-2
Though David sinned, he was quick to repent. God called him "a man after my own heart. He will do everything I want him to do." (1 Samuel 13:14, Acts 13:22) He remembered God is the answer. As in most instances in life, his circumstances didn't change for some time. Yet, David was able to sleep, knowing God was watching over him (verse 5).
Whenever we are in a position similar to David's--hounded by the enemy of our circumstances (health issues, threat to security, emotional wound from someone close)--the beginning of the answer is remembering God and who we are to Him. Because Jesus bought and paid for us with His blood, each of us is God's precious child. He doesn't go to sleep on guard duty.
"My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth! He will not let you stumble; the One who watches over you will not slumber. Indeed, He who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps." Psalm 121:2-4
Yes, it is God, our shield, watching over us and, in His time, He will reveal the answer to us.
"The LORD Himself watches over you! The LORD stands beside you as your protective shade. The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night. The LORD keeps you from all harm and watches over your life. The LORD keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever." Psalm 121:5-8
We just need to wait until He is ready to speak.
"Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken. My victory and honor come from God alone. He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me." Psalm 62:5-7
The answer, the victory, comes from Him.
"Victory comes from You, O LORD. May You bless Your people." Psalm 3:8
by Marilyn Allison