But you Lord are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high. I call to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy mountain. I lie down and sleep; I awake again, because the Lord sustains me.

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Have you ever been in a situation where you just felt helpless? How about that 7.1 earthquake back in 2018? I instinctually ran and held my kids tight, burying their faces into my body as the earthquake violently shook our house. I shielded them as best I could, but in the end I broke down in complete fear, not knowing what to do or where to go.

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Today’s Scripture was written by King David when he was fleeing from a coup started by his own son, Absalom. This was not the first time David was being pursued for his life; but instead of fleeing in the desert as in the days of his youth, David, mature in years, flees from the son he did not discipline.

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Why couldn’t David just send officials to Absalom to work it out? How had his relationship with his son been so broken beyond repair, that he helplessly had to leave his throne in haste, family in tow, with no direction but the desert?

When you read the Scriptures about King David, you see him conquer some of the biggest battles and fall trap to the biggest blunders. I love that we get to take a peek into the heart of the one whom Scripture calls “a man after God’s own heart” (1 Sam 13:14). God does not commend David for his moral character, rather he lifts him up because of David’s posture of humility and heart of praise.

When David is in the desert, he ascends the Mount of Olives, weeping, with his head covered and barefoot. In Biblical times to cover one’s head was a symbol of humility and to go barefoot was to show one’s grief and distress. David demonstrates both physical and outward reverence for his God. Instead of pleading for his life, he praised God. He uses the term LORD, Yahweh in Hebrew; it’s an intimate name because it’s an intimate relationship. And we see throughout the psalms that David has a regular routine of praise: “But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love; for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble” (Psalm 59:16). David shows that it is possible to praise God in the morning, in the evening, and when there is nowhere to go.

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We see how David responds to the attacks of danger flung all around him. In the psalms he writes, “with words of hatred they surround me, they attack me without cause. In return for my friendship they accuse me, but I am a man of prayer” (Psalm 109:3-4). He understands to praise God is to be protected, to be shielded on all sides. To praise God is to call upon the Lord and know him so well that you expect to hear his answer. To praise God is to acknowledge that he numbers your days and not a hair on your head falls to the ground apart from his will. David demonstrates that praise turns the heart outward to God rather than inward to self.

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When we go to praise God, we don’t need to ascend a holy hill, wear a head covering or go barefoot with no sandals. Thanks to Jesus ascending the holy hill and exchanging our sin for his righteousness, we can praise in the presence of God right where we are. Not only do we have access to an intimate relationship with the Father, but we have the Holy Spirit who leads and connects our hearts to his.

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Do you feel helpless and don’t know how to fix your eyes on things above, because you are drowning in the things below? Open up the Psalms. Borrow David’s language and pray the verses aloud, acknowledging the One who Saves; give him praise!

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But I, by your great mercy,

will come into your house;

in reverence will I bow down

toward your holy temple.

Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness

Because of my enemies-

Make straight your way before me.

-Psalm 5:7-8

Holy Lord, I don’t feel worthy of your presence but I know that when I praise you in my mind and in my heart there is no where I would rather be. Thank you that I don’t have to ascend the Holy Hill, but Jesus did that for me. Help me Lord Jesus to praise you; show me how to turn towards you in praise rather than inward toward myself. You are the one who sustains me and gives me each new day. Thank you that I can call you Lord and Father, Savior and Friend. Thank you that you are for me, and that I can trust in you.