"You, O Lord, are the lifter of my head"

In the last sermon he preached before he went home to be with the Lord, Dr. Rick Ferguson told an anecdote about an elderly lady who was driving her car.  When it began to conk out on her, she managed to coast off to the side of the road.  Soon a Good Samaritan gentleman stopped to help her.  As he was toying with the car trying to figure out what was wrong with it, he noticed that the gas gauge was all to the “E”.  “Well, ma’am,” he began.  “I think the problem might be that your car ran out of gas.”  The lady replied, “Well, do you think it will hurt it to drive it home that way?”  Then Pastor Rick asked this question: “Have you ever felt like you’ve run out of gas, but you had to keep going anyway?”
 

I relate to that question, more than ever before, and I can certainly answer with a resounding yes.  I often feel this way.  What is the reason for this?  Many readers will know the answer, but I’m going to state it again anyway: it is because three years ago, my dad unexpectedly entered his Heavenly reward.  Dad shouldered many responsibilities and burdens that I took for granted, but now, I feel the heavy weight of them.

I’ve been ministered to by many great Christian songs these three years, but to give just one today, I’ve been reflecting on the song by Colton Dixon simply called “You are”.  Check out these lyrics: “When I can’t find the words to say how much it hurts, You are the healing in my heart; when all I can see are broken memories, You are the light that’s in the dark.”  I miss my dad every day, but there are those raw, emotional, visceral times when I truly can’t “find the words to say how much it hurts” to be without him. 

The song goes on to say, “And when my circumstances leave me with empty hands, You are the provider of my needs.  When all my dirtiness has left me helpless, You are the rain that washes me” 
(for the full lyrics, and more information on the song, check out https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/coltondixon/youare.html).  

God is the One that has been good, faithful, kind, and generous to me these three years.  Psalm 3:3 says, “But You, O Lord, are a shield about me; my glory, and the lifter of my head” (ESV).  He is the “lifter of my head” because I know my dad is experiencing the wonders of Heaven, and one day, I will see him again.  What a day that will be!

Kevin