When do people hang their heads and look downwards? Usually in times of discouragement, sadness or depression; also in times of failure and shame. In the Bible, we see that God is not oblivious or indifferent when we pass through such times. He sees us, amidst billions of others on the planet, and reaches down to lift our head and give us hope.
In Psalm 3:3, when David is fleeing for his life (from those who supported his son, Absalom), he declares, "But You, oh Lord, are a shield around me, my glory and the Lifter of my head." He proclaims similar truths in Psalm 27, and in Psalm 9: 13, he goes as far as to say, "You lifted me up from the gates of death."
Using different Hebrew words, Psalm 146: 8 expresses this truth as a promise: "The Lord lifts up those who are weighed down."
What a mind-blowing reassurance - that the God who sustains the whole universe, the God who knows the names of billions, would pause and reach down to lift my head again in any times when I am physically or emotionally down.
