Lord, how many are my foes! How many rise up against me! Many are saying of me, "God will not deliver him."
But You, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high.
I call out to the Lord, and He answers me from His holy mountain.
I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.
I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side.
Arise, Lord! Deliver me, my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked.
From the Lord comes deliverance. May Your blessing be on Your people.
Le and Roger drove all day from France to Portugal. Hundreds of miles. The whole journey south in a single day. And late at night, exhausted, Le opened the Bible and read Psalm 3. Not Kempis — not this time. David. The king who was fleeing, stripped of his home, surrounded by voices saying God will not deliver him.
After thirty-one consecutive days of Kempis, the psalm lands differently. Kempis taught the inward liberty. David lives it. Kempis taught the peace that does not depend on the place. David proves it — fleeing from his own son, sleeping on the ground, and waking again because the Lord sustains him.
And the verse that speaks to this night in Caldas da Rainha: I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me. The sustaining is His. The sleeping is hers. The waking is proof. Every morning — including the one that will come after this exhausting day — is evidence that the Lord sustains.
The psalm turns on three words: But You, Lord. The foes are many — but You, Lord. The voices say God will not deliver — but You, Lord. The tens of thousands assail — but You, Lord. Every accusation, every fear, every voice is answered by those three words.
You are a shield around me. Not in front only — around. The protection is complete. My glory. Not the glory of the achievement, the move, the plan — His glory. The One who lifts my head high. The head that is heavy with travel, heavy with exhaustion, heavy with the weight of packing a life into boxes — He lifts it.
From the Lord comes deliverance. Not from the plan. Not from the checklist. Not from the competence. From the Lord. And the blessing at the end — may Your blessing be on Your people — is David praying not just for himself but for everyone. The pilgrim who is exhausted still prays for others.
✦ A Quiet Entry for a Long Day
This is a quiet entry. No elaborate readings. No multiple sources. One psalm. Eight verses. Read late at night after a long drive from France. And it is enough — more than enough.
Thirty-one days of Kempis prepared the ground. The Imitation taught the inward liberty, the free mind, the privilege of passing among many cares as if without care. And now Psalm 3 shows what that looks like in the body — in the body that drove all day, that crossed a border, that arrived at the apartment that must be packed, that is tired and heavy and ready for sleep. I lie down and sleep. Not because the foes are gone. Not because the task is finished. Because the Lord sustains.
Tomorrow the packing begins. But tonight — sleep. And the waking will be proof. 🙏
"But You, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, the One who lifts my head high."
Psalm 3:3 · Caldas da Rainha · A quiet entry for a long dayBut You, Lord
The three words that answer every fear. The foes are many — but You, Lord. The voices say God will not deliver — but You, Lord. A shield around, not just in front.
I Lie Down and Sleep
The sustaining is His. The sleeping is hers. The waking is proof. Every morning is evidence that the Lord sustains — including the one after a long drive from France.
Home — to Pack
Caldas da Rainha. The apartment God sold. The pilgrims have returned to close one chapter. From the Lord comes deliverance — not from the plan or the checklist.