The Lifter of My Head – (in)courage - Bible Verses

I used to be status on the kitchen sink, elbow-deep in suds (and silent court cases) after I heard the message, loud and powerful.

Decelerate. Glance up.

The phrases rang transparent as a bell in my thoughts. All day and all week (possibly all 12 months?) I were grousing and venting, feeling crushed and overworked as a brand new mom. Again then we had two kids, a baby and a child, and their consistent wishes wore down my persistence and effort on a daily basis. I had sought after this existence, had prayed and dreamed for marriage and motherhood, however the fact of what those callings demanded from me, frame and soul, felt like greater than I may give.

Decelerate. Glance up.

One small boy was once tugging at my sleeve and any other was once crawling over my ft when the phrases rose up inside of me. Best two quick words and 4 small phrases. However my head snapped to consideration as though I had heard them hollered aloud.

What did God imply? Decelerate: that was once simple sufficient to determine. All of us transfer too speedy on this busy, breakneck global. However glance up? What was once I meant to peer?

I held the phrases shut all summer time, after which for the following 12 months. Decelerate. Glance up. As with every excellent phrase, I stumbled and faltered in my makes an attempt to practice its fact. Slowing down was once more straightforward. I attempted to transport extra mindfully thru my days. I gave my kids extra space and time, attempting to not rush them. I saved my calendar a bit of much less crowded. I aimed to start out my days at a slower tempo, turning first to prayer.

However having a look up? That also stumped me. Perhaps God supposed elevating my eyes to the move at the wall, to keep in mind Jesus within the heart of my busy existence? However that didn’t really feel like sufficient. Perhaps I used to be meant to seem out the window or slip outdoor to behold the wonderful thing about advent within the extensive sky above me? That didn’t really feel entire both.

Then one night time, when my husband got here house after a protracted day for either one of us, I stretched as much as hug him and felt my frame calm down as my head tipped again to grin at him. Glance up. No longer most effective did having a look up carry me to the eyes of my loved, however unexpectedly my shoulders and neck felt extra comfy than they’d in weeks. Having a look up felt like coming house, frame and soul.

Later I came upon one thing marvelous in prayer, digging into the Psalms. A brand new-to-me identify for God that amassed in combination the whole thing I yearned to search out in a weary, worn-out season of existence.

“However you, O Lord, are a protect about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.”
Psalm 3:3 ESV

The lifter of my head. I had by no means identified God through this identify. By no means thought of the wonderful thing about God lifting my eyes to the heavens. By no means imagined Jesus cupping my chin in His palms with a loving smile. By no means made the relationship between how excellent it felt after I lifted my head and decreased my hunched shoulders — and the way excellent it felt to go back to prayer and take into accout God’s guarantees.

All of this was once held in a single easy word. The lifter of my head.

That kitchen epiphany came about years in the past, however I will nonetheless pay attention the quiet, loving phrases echo in my thoughts. Decelerate. Glance up.

Since that day I’ve carried this identify for God like a prayer in my pocket all through the toughest moments of my existence: grief, loss, and struggling. If this identify for God had been true, then it needed to be true all the time. Even right here, even now, You’re nonetheless the lifter of my head.

And on stunning days, too — when heat solar breaks thru darkish clouds, when a chum’s encouragement provides a spice up, when my youngsters spare an extraordinary hug, or when a music at the radio turns my gloomy temper round — I take into accout:

“You, O Lord, are a protect about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.”

When you’re discouraged, God is the lifter of your head.

When you’re grieving, God is the lifter of your head.

When you’re weary and worn and wandering some distance from religion, God continues to be the lifter of your head.

Most significantly, none people have to boost our heads through our personal energy. God by myself raises us up: the Writer who made our our bodies, the Healer who touches our ache, the Mild who directs our paths, and the Knowledge who guides our steps. If Lifter of My Head is a part of God’s personal identify and nature, then we will let our heads gaze upon goodness once more, shining complete and vibrant within the face of Love itself.

Decelerate. Glance up. How would possibly The Lifter of Your Head be calling for your center lately?

For extra encouraging reflections on existence after loss and therapeutic after struggling, take a look at Laura’s weekly essays at The Holy Exertions.