What A Man Says
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Posted: January 30, 2021
Author: Christopher Brock Psalms 118:5-6, NIV “When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord; he brought me into a spacious place. The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” |
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My oldest son and I like to ride roller coasters. In fact, we have even talked about planning a trip this coming summer for he and I to go to a large roller coaster park that is a few hours away from where we live. There is one part of riding roller coasters however that is a struggle for me. On many roller coasters, there are large shoulder straps that come down over your shoulders and secure you into the seat. This is certainly a required safety measure but for me, the feeling of being confined and unable to move can cause fear. Once the ride starts I am ok, but if we end up sitting in the train waiting for any amount of time, I can start to struggle. If the shoulder restraints are very tight I can even come close to panicking.
When I think about this is in light of what has taken place in the world over the past year, I believe there are many people who might feel a similar kind of pressure and anxiety. They are some who feel that because of the potential of illness. They fear being around people because of what might happen. Then there are others who feel that anxiety when they cannot be around people like they use to be. Isolation brings them to a place of fear and they are not sure how to deal with it.
With all that being said, I am always reminded of this verse in Psalms. It starts off by saying “When hard pressed…” The original language literally means something that is tight around you. Almost like something that is squeezing you and there seems to be no escape from it. It goes on to say “I cried to the Lord”. To cry out means that, in our anguish and suffering, we call upon the Lord in a loud voice, knowing that there is no other way to be saved. It then tells us “He brought me into a spacious place.” This indicates that the Lord literally removes us from the place of confinement, the thing that had tightly wrapped itself around us. He not only removes us from that place, He also places us in a place of freedom and liberty, a place where we are no longer confined. Isn’t that a beautiful picture?
If you are reading this today and you are in that place of confinement and it feels like you are being squeezed and there is no way out then hear this…. Cry out to the Lord! Ask Him to come to you and to save you. Ask Him to bring you into that spacious place that only He can take you to. He will be faithful to hear your cry and He will be faithful to answer the call.
