Lifter of my Head

Read John 4:1-4; 25-27 

“But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.” (Psalm 3:3) 

The account of the woman at the well has always held a special place in Scripture for me, as it is filled with many lessons to be learned. This woman’s divine appointment with the Savior gives us the picture of Jesus going out of His way to speak love and compassion into the heart of a woman lost in the messiness of a life of bad choices. She lived a life filled with worry and anxiety. Her lifestyle made her an outcast. Her worry of what others would say sent her to fetch water in the hottest time of the day. Corrie ten Boom says:

“…worrying is carrying tomorrow’s burden with today’s strength. Worried people are like tightrope walkers, trying to walk over a rope from the past to the future, balancing between hope and fear. In one hand they hold a bag with the disordered past, in the other a bag, the feared future. Worrying does not take away tomorrow’s grief, it takes away today’s strength.”

This thinking sets the scene for this woman’s encounter with the One who knew her best. He knew what she needed and was there to open her heart and her eyes to the reality of her need for a Savior. What a moment it must have been when Jesus said to her, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.” Jill Briscoe has said that sometimes God gives a “peek around the corner of Scripture”. As Jesus speaks these words to the woman, the peek I see is Jesus lifting her head so she would see Him face to face. They would be eye to eye when He spoke those words to her. Jesus had her full attention and His words touched her heart and soul with its truth. And only as Jesus can do, her worry and despair were replaced with joy and hope! We know this because, she gave testimony to everyone she met. If we read a little further in John 4:39 we read, “Many of the Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony…”

Has worry and despair been ruling your everydayness? Allow Jesus to lift your head that you might look into His eyes. Allow Him to free you from the burden that binds you in worry and anxiety. Hear His words, “I am He!”

FOR REFLECTION:

• Listen to the song, “O Come to the Altar” by Elevation Worship. Allow the truth of these words to lift your heart and head. 

by Geri Koterman