LORD, SET MY FEET IN A SPACIOUS PLACE

I am a bit claustrophobic. For example, when I use the bathroom in an airplane (or in a bus, coming from Baguio to Manila), or in a crowded elevator, I start to feel uneasy. There was one time I rode in a one cab pickup of a Christian brother, and I started to feel so claustrophobic that I asked if I could open the window and breathe the air while we were moving. There was another time I took a van for hire to a far away town, and since I was one of the last passengers to arrive, I had to sit in the back seat, and we were packed like sardines. I struggled for the whole hour. On the way back to the city, I made sure I sat in the front seat.

When you are claustrophobic, space is a blessing! You’re able to breathe, feel relaxed, at rest. 

I remembered this about myself when I read this verse in David's psalm:

Psalms 31:7-8 NIV I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul.  (8)  You have not handed me over to the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place.

Why would David say, or sing, “you have set my feet in a spacious place”?

The ESV translates it “broad space”, while the NASB uses the word “large”.

I tried to put myself in David’s shoes (or sandals) and understand why he was glad and rejoiced in the love of the Lord by setting his feet in a spacious, large, place.

It seems obvious that the scenario in this psalm is David surrounded by his enemies. In verse 4 he uses the picture of a trap, or a net (ESV, NASB). You can imagine how a fish feels when a net is slowly surrounding him.

For the Lord to set David’s feet in a spacious space meant that he was in an open space, without enemies surrounding him. Imagine being surrounded by enemies – a sure formula for anxiety, panic, fear. With the Lord setting him in a spacious, broad, place, David is now at peace, relaxed, and able to rest.

That was how David described the Lord being his refuge.

Psalms 31:1 NIV For the director of music. A psalm of David. In you, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness.

 There are times when there are circumstances beyond our control – trials we face, troubles that come our way. Or it can just be our thoughts – trying to find solutions to problems, imagining “worst scenarios” in our mind. We feel, just like David, surrounded, like a net coming closer. Then the anxiety, the fear, begins to creep in.

This is when, like David, our hearts need to call upon the Lord.

Psalms 31:2-3 NIV Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me.  (3)  Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me.

 We run to Him in prayer; we run to His Word. He becomes the rock of refuge, the fortress we run to for protection. It is in Him, in His presence, surrounded by His Words and promises, that we find rest for your soul.

In another psalm, David sings: Psalms 61:1-2 NIV For the director of music. With stringed instruments. Of David. Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer.  (2)  From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

 The ROCK THAT IS HIGHER THAN I. It is when we are in the “heights” of the presence of God that the space we are in becomes broad, and we are able to find rest.

 We find this higher Rock, God’s higher presence, when we are alone with Him in prayer, in our times of fellowship with Him. Just the Lord and His Word.

I remember Moses, leading the people of Israel in the wilderness to the promised land.  He was surrounded by thousands of Israelites who were hard headed and stiff necked! But he had his tent of meeting, where the Lord met him face to face. When we call on Him, and come to our “tent of meeting”, this is when, even just for a moment, the Lord places us in a spacious place, with Him, in His presence.

The circumstances may still be there. The trials we face may still be surrounding us. But, in our hearts, in the depths of our inner being, our Rock, our Fortress, brings us to a place of peace, trust and rest.

 

May the Lord, by His grace, keep us in this spacious place always.