A Large Space

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" I called upon the Lord in distress: the Lord answered me, and set me in a large place." Psalm 118:5

The scene pictured above is from the Lord of the Rings movie installment "Felllowship of the Ring". Our heroic band of travelers is deep in a mine created by dwarves, and has awoken from the depths the nasty creatures (orcs, mostly) that live there. They are surrounded, but guarded by the light and their swords the enemies can only advance so far so there seems to be an invisible circle drawn around them. 

As a Christian you should know you're in a daily spiritual battle. If you don't, read Ephesians 6:10-17 for starters. It still may not convince you, but even if it does this battle needs to be recognized experientially rather than mere mental assent to what the Bible says. If you put your trust in Jesus as your Savior, have faith that his blood cleansed and is cleansing you from sin (1 John 1:7), are putting to death the deeds of the body through the Spirit (Romans 8:13), and have consecrated your life to Him, the devil is after you. The rest of the world (and those professing to be Christians but don't meet the criteria above) is living in sin and the devil is quite happy with them. 

The devils' attacks can be very subtle: that's why the Bible calls them "wiles" (Ephesians 6:11). Sometimes we swear people are just "jerks" and are coming at us for that reason alone, but the devil regularly blinds us to his operations. He comes at us through people, and though he knows he can't take away our salvation, he wants to make us miserable and poor representatives of Christ. 

Have you ever felt "pressed on every side", like the onslaught was just so oppressive you couldn't possibly take any more? The apostle Paul felt like that, using those very words (2 Corinthians 4:8), so much so that he wanted to die (2 Corinthians 1:8). The word rendered "pressed" literally means that, to be pressed like a grape. However verse goes on to say "...we are pressed but not crushed" (the word "crushed" literally meaning to be in a "narrow place"). 

That's when I like to think of our image above. We may indeed be pressed, but God gives us the armor of Ephesians chapter 6 to create an invisible barrier around us through which the enemy cannot penetrate. We take up our swords (the Word of God), wielding them confidently, our shield of faith, helmets of salvation, breastplates of righteousness (i.e., the blood of the Lamb), and the belt of the truth of God's Word (represented by the light in the picture above). The enemy mortally fears all these pieces on a mature Christian, and will accordingly keep his distance.

But we are to be more than the travelers fighting for their lives above. In fact, God promises us a "large place" (Psalm 118:5 - interestingly, this verse in the Psalms carries the exact meaning of our verse from 2 Corinthians, where "distress' literally means to be "in a tight place"). In this large place there is freedom to "live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28), even living the "abundant life" (John 10:10) that Jesus promised. God has promised it: what is preventing us from living it? Let us confidently put on our armor, knowing whose the battle is (2 Chronicles 20:15).