May You Breathe in Tight Places
Distress enables the four corners of this earth or the four walls in our homes to entrap us and become our living tomb where we see no way out. Distress can overcome us inside or outside of our homes. When we are hit with distress, there seems to be no way out or no form of deliverance. As creative as we are in moments of distress, we must stand still and seek the counsel of the Lord. Terrible and regrettable mistakes occur in the hour(s) of distress due to the tightness, feeling of being trapped, and the need to do something to get out.
These acts of distress occur in the human mind; therefore, deliverance occurs first here. “ And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:7). We are not in control of the exterior things, and you are not always in control of the physical things that happen in your body. The exterior and physical cause your soul to be in tight places, but our trust in God delivers us over and over again.
Psalm 4:1 “Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have relieved me in my distress; Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.” Relieved in the Hebrew is, “רָחַב râchab, raw-khab´; a prim. root; to broaden (intrans. or trans., lit. or fig.):—be an en- (make) large (-ing), make room, make (open) wide.1 In those tight places, we can see God's work (2 Cor. 12:9). Since life does not happen in slow motion, we don’t get to see everything he does because of how swiftly some blessings occur. But on any given day, the tightness has left, we are no longer in a tight place, and we have actually gained more territory in our walk with God.
Distress, as unwanted as it is, is an opportunity for God to make room for something else, broaden who we are spiritually, and prosper us in life and the things pertaining to God. Keep breathing in moments of distress, knowing the God of your righteousness will give you room……
©Oct 5, 2024 Courtney Henderson
1 James Strong, A Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible, 108.