He brought me out into a spacious place;
He rescued me because He delighted in me. ~Psalm 18:19
I pray your summer has been wonderful. I’d love to sit down with you and find out how God brought opportunities for you to practice dependence and rejoicing. As I considered my encouragement for this month, I came across Psalm 18:19. It was sometime right after 4th of July and freedom was on my mind. I started thinking about how greater dependence and greater rejoicing can lead to greater freedom!
Yet many of us feel imprisoned. Imprisoned by an overrun schedule that we try to convince ourselves we can manage by controlling everyone and everything. Imprisoned in what feels like a life of drudgery, a missing significance, or a fear of going unnoticed by those around us. The walls feel like they are closing in around us and we have no place to run! Let’s consider four phrases from Psalm 18:19.
-
- God has “brought you out.” You were once imprisoned to sin, but God liberated you from it through the finished work of Jesus on the cross! If God has the power to raise Christ from the dead, He has the power to bring us out of any prison in which we find ourselves.
- God has brought you “into a spacious space” which literally means open space. The figurative meaning of spacious space is liberty! So you have liberty because Christ has made you free (Gal 5:1)! Christ flings open the door of our prison cell and declares we are free. The question is do we choose to step out of our prison or do we choose to stay?
- God has “rescued you” — meaning He has armed you for war, delivered you, equipped you! The world outside of our prison can be scary. There are unknowns, risks we will have to take, and faith we will need to exert, but take heart you are equipped for whatever you face.
- God “delighted in you.” God is pleased apart from our performance. As you face the unknowns, take the risks, exercise your faith, God is pleased with your heart to pursue Him, glorify Him, and share Him with the world.
So, rather than decorate your prison, step out and live in the broad space of liberty that God has provided you through Jesus Christ. In doing so, your Summer of Freedom can carry into your daily living!
