Oct 20 - Psalm 3:3

You, O LORD, are

a shield around me, my glory,

and the one who lifts my head high.

Psalm 3:3

 

What are you most afraid of?

 

Some will say spiders and snakes. Others are afraid of heights. Others quake at the mere thought of speaking in public.

 

Trace those fears back to their roots, though, and you’ll find that what we’re really afraid of is death.

 

·         We don’t like ladders and heights because we’re afraid that we might fall and die.

·         We don’t like dogs that bark and snakes that crawl because they might bite us and we might die.

·         We don’t like speaking in public because we might be embarrassed.

 

Wait … embarrassment is not a death.

 

No, not technically. But every time we’re embarrassed, we die a thousand little deaths. Every time someone gossips about us, it’s like a thousand little stabs in the heart. Every time we’re perceived as week or needy or foolish or vulnerable, it’s like a thousand little pin pricks.

 

As many times as we sin, fail, and fall short (see Romans 3:23), you’d think we’d be accustomed to being pin cushions. Bruised. Battered. And humble, rather than proud. But we’re not. We’re brittle. Therefore, instead of venturing boldly forward into life, too many of us isolate ourselves. We guard our feelings and hide our hearts.

 

Today’s verse tells us, however, that we should really be a little bolder. After all, we have “a shield around [us].” What is that shield? It is God – “You, O Lord, are a shield around me.”

 

I can still remember where I was when a light bulb went off in my wife’s head … and it sparked a newfound confidence in my heart. Reflecting on Romans 3:24, she said, “If God justifies us, we do we spend so much time trying to justify ourselves.”

 

Wow! Simple but profound.

 

We all waste so much time and effort in life trying to look good in the eyes of others. But really, there’s only one who’s opinion really matters … and that’s God! And God loves us. And forgives us. He calls us his child. He watches over our days. And by his grace, even death isn’t deadly anymore. Indeed, death is just the gate to heaven and an even better life.

 

In Christ’s Love,

a guy who’s still

wise about ladders

and wary of snakes,

but is free in God’s

justifying grace!