Absalom’s Uprising

Lord, how many are my foes!
    Many are rising against me;
many are saying of my soul,
    “There is no salvation for him in God.” Selah[a]

But you, O Lord, are a shield about me,
    my glory, and the lifter of my head.
I cried aloud to the Lord,
    and he answered me from his holy hill. Selah

Psalm 3:1-4 ESV

David’s son Absalom had won over the hearts of the Israelites and essentially pronounced himself king.

With an army at his back and the people on his side, Absalom enters Jerusalem to boot David off of the throne. (2 Samuel 15)

Weeping, David flees and goes up to the Mount of Olives to pray, asking that God turns Absalom’s counsel into foolishness. In 2 Samuel 16, we see that David has officially gone out of the city.

In light of this, Psalm 3 is even more amazing, as it was written during this event!

Thousands of people are against David, seeking his very life. “Many are saying of my soul, ‘there is no salvation for him in God.’ ”

Yet David remains confident in the Lord. Not wavering, David seeks God and declares his trust in the Lord, proclaiming that God is a shield around him.

Throughout the rest of the story, we find that God does indeed keep David safe and gives him victory over Absalom.

Today, most of us aren’t being pursued by our enemies who intend to kill us, but God did that for David. And if he did such great things for David, we can be assured that the small victories we need are easily within His grasp!

Though people set themselves against you and you feel like the whole world is facing off with you, stand firm in the Lord and trust in His might.

David ends Psalm 3 with these words:

Arise, O Lord!
    Save me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;
    you break the teeth of the wicked.

Salvation belongs to the Lord;
    your blessing be on your people! Selah

Psalm 3:7-8 ESV

David doesn’t start off by calling for his army. He calls for the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

He knew that salvation was found only in one place, and he looked for help there first.

David knew that only in God would he find security. Where do you find yours?

Today’s author, Brandon Loftis, is the blog manager for Short Daily Devotions. He lives in Bismarck, North Dakota with his lovely wife Sambrea. Brandon runs the ND service department for a thriving construction company in the midwest, Rapid Fire Protection, Inc.

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