…but a crushed spirit who can bear?

Proverbs 18:14 ESV

But you, O Lord, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head.

Psalm 3:3 ESV

Jesus delivers Paul from those who sought to kill him. It reminds me of the turn around in Esther, Paul getting to ride on a horse, the man who walked 10,000 miles on his journeys for Christ. Jesus lifted his head.

Jesus appears to Paul and tells him that Jerusalem is not the end. Why might that be important for Paul to understand just then? Because the place they took Paul was the same place in Jerusalem where they stripped Jesus and placed the crown of thorns on His head. It wouldn’t be hard to start imagining it was going to mean your end as well without a sure word there was another destination ahead. Jesus lifted his head.

Paul, not long before this, wrote the words, “We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair” (2 Cor. 4:8). He knew the God who lifted his head and kept him when pressed on all sides.