A shield about me

"But You, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the One who lifts my head." Psalm 3:3

A history lesson from David, a king in whom God delighted, that benefits us all!

It is easy to forget it is our Father that always protects us against the evil one instead of by our own efforts. Our ego and pride can easily get in the way of trusting Him in all we do. It's easy to trust in our own strength when we have victories, as did David; we trust in our own insights into Him. There is temptation to stop being truly humble, pull our heads down and follow our own instincts. Yet, David says we must continue to let our Father lift our heads to Him to see what He would have us do! David demonstrates it in his own life and records it in his writings.

In Psalms 3, 4 and 5 David talks about relying on the LORD. He says his foes believed he would not be saved by his reliance upon God. It becomes easy to rely upon ourselves when we are attacked and God gives us victory over our enemies ... we are children of God who has promised us great strength and abundance and victory over our adversaries! This is a great truth we all should trust. David was a king that Scripture says had a heart for God, one in whom our Father delighted in. David was a very victorious king, having victory after victory because of his trust in God.

Psalm 6 (and 13) describe anguish. David let his society and passions dictate his actions; he had one of his trusted followers killed because he forgot to lift his head to God. He became weak in his victories; he gloried in his success, he "looked" at Bathsheba and had Uriah killed so he could have his own way. He trusted in the successes God had given him and became prideful, feeling he deserved what he wanted, or could get.

Let us humbly keep our heads lifted to our Father; the LORD forgave David when David again listened to God (when Nathan rebuked him, he acknowledged his sin and repented). What a humbling lesson we all can learn from! Let us let God lift our heads today, and praise Him for His everlasting love for us! This is where our shield continues to come into action, our Father protecting us against pride and our adversary/adversaries.

Read Psalms 3,4, 5 and Psalms 6 and 13; also 2 Samuel 11 and 12 for more illumination.

Every good and perfect gift ...

"Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation, or no shifting shadow." James 1:17

Our Father gives only good things and perfect gifts. It's a truth we rely upon. What is James saying, though, about being deceived? Knowing dokimē and dokimazo in Greek helps answer that question. Examine, test, experience and prove/approve are the English words used to explain the term. The meaning depicts removing impurities from valuable metal we are to examine and inspect for purity. The reference is self-examination (we are that precious metal!), an honest inspection of how we are progressing in our walk with the LORD. Examples of this examination are in 1 Corinthians 11:28, "... but let a man (person) examine himself ...," Philemon 1:10, "approve the things that are excellent" and Romans 5:3b-4, " ... knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope;"

The next verse is a perfect example of God's good things ... "Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." Romans 5:5. How incredibly awesome!!!

Satan, society, worldly ambition, social ambition, personal ambition ... anything that gets in the way of our pure worship can deceive us! Tribulations help us to understand how we are to rely upon God. In this way, we're able to fully understand and utilize every good thing that our loving Father bestows upon us. That is His promise; He will never change! He always give us every good thing and perfect gift. Our daily job is not to be deceived by the attempts to pull us away from God's good gifts! Believe me ... God's gifts are everywhere, if we but seek, knock and ask!

For my hand made all these things ...

"For my hand made all these things, thus all these things came into being," declares the LORD. "But to this one will I look, one who is humble and contrite in spirit, and who trembles at My word."

Isaiah 66:2

Everything that is created comes from God. There is nothing He did not create.

Psalm 24:1 states, "The earth is tho LORD's and all it contains, the world, and those who dwell in it." Isn't it comforting to know that whomever is in control of the world's governments, or leading our societies, they are stewards that have been put in charge by God. No person, no government, no "ism" (capitalism, communism, socialism) has pre-eminence over the sovereignty of God ... and we are all stewards that have a responsibility to take care of God's handiwork, God's workmanship. It's Theocracy that ultimately rules!

What God ask of us is to be humble and contrite (nakeh in Hebrew, literally meaning maimed or figuratively, dejected ... we need a Savior, after all), to be aware of our need for Him and to act accordingly. In doing such, we can enjoy life and have freedom in serving Him, knowing we are doing God's will by being wise and faithful stewards. He will richly bless those who take care of His creation. After all, everything God created is good! We must worship Him in spirit and in truth. That's what will make life so vibrant and exciting!

Read 1 Timothy 4:4-5, Psalm 50 (especially verses 6, 10-12), John 4:24

Isaiah was telling Israel this truth because they were being swayed by the commercialism of their times, and were acting as if they had a right to do what was right in their own eyes ... they were being hypocritical and not serving the LORD faithfully.