Jesus welcomed the people, taught them about the Kingdom of God and healed those in need. Luke 9:11

Seeds of the Kingdom

You Are the Lifter of My Head…

by Emma Cottrell

But You are a shield around me, O Lord; You bestow glory on me and lift up my head.
Psalm 3:3, NIV

It’s the beginning of spring in Israel, and the countryside is at its greenest at the moment, with beautiful fields of flowers in certain areas. Walking amongst wild cyclamen in a wooded area with friends in the north, I felt the Lord speaking to me through these little plants. I have to say they’ve never been a favorite plant of mine. In the past I’ve thought of the cyclamen as quite a plain and boring pot plant.

But seeing them on mass, wild, tiny, intricately growing, was a completely new experience for me, and got my attention. I saw the beauty, and the delicate shades of pink and white glistening in the sunlight. How had I missed their beauty in the past?

As I looked closely at these plants, I was drawn to the tiny buds amongst the flowers. Each bud was facing downwards, drooping into their foliage. The Lord at that moment spoke and said ‘I’m the lifter of their heads and of yours.’

Once these little buds have received all they need, the nutrients to become healthy and grow, they begin to turn and lift their heads, quite literally. They begin to open and flourish with confidence, their petals facing upwards to heaven, in a complete turnaround direction-wise.

The Lord is the lifter of our heads and reminded me, no matter where we are, what we may be going through, the pain we may be in, the answer we may still be waiting for, the shame we may be feeling about a situation, or the knock we may have had, He’s the lifter of our heads. As the verse says, He’s a shield around me, His glory is on me, and I can lift up my head in confidence because of Him.

Like the baby cyclamen buds, once we’ve received what we need in that place of being bowed down, maybe after a rest, or a time of refreshment in which to hear His voice of truth afresh, He’ll quite literally help us to lift our heads again to His light, to glorify and worship Him.

And you know what? As each bud is a different shape and height and has a unique time frame, the Lord knows the exact timing for each one of us to lift our heads afresh to Him in utter confidence and trust.

Let’s thank the Lord today for being the lifter of our heads.

Prayer: Father in Heaven, thank You that You’re the lifter of my head and You see me exactly where I am at this moment. Would You forgive me if I’ve wanted to stay looking down at the things surrounding me, or for not believing in who I am in You. Please help me, in Your timing, to have the confidence to turn my head upwards with You to Your light to glorify and worship You. Help me to allow You to help me grow and flourish into all that I’m to be in You. Thank You, Jesus, for who You are. I love You, Amen.

Emma Cottrell Emma worked as a teacher before doing NETS at Pierrepont in 2010 and then serving on team at Ellel Scotland in the ministry office for a year. After receiving deep healing through creativity, the Lord has given her a heart and passion to draw alongside others and to see broken lives restored, and for the special way He uses creativity to bring His healing and wholeness. She currently serves on the Ellel Ministries team both within the UK and overseas.

 

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