Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Psalm 24:7

God spoke to His people and commanded them to lift their heads. He went out to battle on their behalf and assured them that He would come back victorious.  Raising a hopeful countenance to their Deliverer took faith, and the waiting was difficult, no matter how beautiful the promise.

I recall when Joseph told the Pharaoh’s cupbearer, who was falsely accused, that Pharaoh would lift up his head in three days. The Hebrew idiom paints a beautiful picture. It is when the one shrunken in shame is restored to his position of honor. It’s also used other places in scripture that expand its beauty.  King David, on the run from Absalom with just the clothes on his back, turned to God for vindication. He climbed the Mount of Olives, covered his head, wept, and said, “You, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high.” Psalm 3:3. As king, David could have formed an army to get back his throne but he abandoned such ideas. He recognized that God was his rescuer.

Who has stripped you of your honor?  No matter what the context, the experience is gut-wrenching. Your mind runs tapes of the accusations made against you as your body language turns inward.  Perhaps you have vowed to take revenge, to get back what you’ve lost, no matter who has to pay. It’s easy to get tired of waiting for your Redeemer to ‘redeem’ and take up your own cause.

The hardest thing for any of us to do is to wait on God to move. He always will; we just don’t know when. In the meantime, waiting is never wasted. God draws near, comforts us with just the right words framed with compassion.  Each disclosure is a treasure upon treasure, the kind only found in the darkness. He is our King and He is the lifter of our heads.

Satan offered you a way out of waiting when he offered you the kingdoms of the world in exchange for worship. Thank you for not caving. Everything would have been lost. So teach me to wait! Amen

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