“But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high” (Psalm 3:3).

What does it mean to say that the Lord is my glory? Glory can also mean, “honor.” What does it mean to say, “My honor as a person is found in God?”

Sit with that for a while. King David probably did something similar when he wrote this psalm. It wasn’t a glorious time in David’s life. He had fled from his son Absalom. Terror, anguish, and uncertainty hung around his kingship like a cloud of smoke.  

Yet the cloud became the fragrance of incense. David’s personal splendor had collapsed, but he wore the Lord’s mantle of glory. It covered him in peace and security to the point that he was able to write, “I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me” (verse 5).

As David assessed his life situation, he saw the Lord. His reputation, his well-being, rested in the character of God. He knew he belonged to God; therefore, he knew he was secure.

How much of my sleeplessness is because I’m looking to save myself? How much of my restlessness is rooted in my perception of my importance, honor, and prestige? Can I picture myself stripped bare of artifice and wrapped instead in the identity of the triune God? Can I picture the Lord saying to me, “Take off that dusty, tattered cloak of identity; it’s too heavy. Wear mine instead. Let me be your glory. Rest in me.”