Day 29 - The Lord won’t allow the enemy to keep you trapped.

“They confronted me in the day of my calamity, But the Lord was my support. He also brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me because He delighted in me.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭18:18-19‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

It was my first or second year in college and I was in the library. Now, the library is very old and had (at that time) a very old, VERY small, elevator. Well, one evening while I was there looking up reference material, I suddenly felt like I could not go up another flight of stairs. However, I needed to go back up into the “stacks” (rows of shelves, tightly arranged, wherein one may seek the elusive, pivotal, reference source) one more time before leaving. So, I stepped into what would prove to be a “Twilight Zone” experience (are you hearing the music?); I decided that I would risk the elevator. Now, when I tell you that the elevator is small, you may get a visual of maybe three or four people being able to comfortably move around in it, but—unless my memory has failed me—this would be tight for two people. I pushed the button and began going up: “chunka, chunka, chunka” (at this point I am wondering if I am over the load limit for this elevator), and then, the elevator totally stopped! (As an aside, I might mention that many members of my mother’s family suffer with claustrophobia—I am not claiming this—but it’s information I thought you needed to have.) To be honest with you, I don’t remember how long I was in there or how the elevator started back up. I literally have “blanked” on it. All I know is how I felt when it stopped, and that it did, somehow, start back up. I never got back on it again. Ever.

Now, whether you suffer from claustrophobia or not, feeling closed in, is not a pleasant feeling. What I mean by, “closed in” is that you are being restricted from what you want/need to do. Suddenly, a tight space, perceived as being tolerable in one circumstance, becomes intolerable if you think there is no way out.

Let’s take the concept of being closed in to another level now (no, I’m not going to talk about seatbelts here; but I really, really, want to).

If you are of my age, you probably saw a lot of westerns growing up. One of the scenarios you would see, more than once, is when there is one group of men on horses being furiously pursued by another group of men on horses. The guys being pursued begin to get ahead; it looks like they will get away! However, their escape route is now taking them through hills on either side. Suddenly, they find themselves in (yes, you may have guessed it ) a box canyon. There is no way out! They are caught!

Even if you’ve never been literally confined, with no way of escape, I can probably guess that you have been in situations where you felt that way. It can be a lonely, terrifying, place; but there is hope.

In our portion of Psalms today we see that David—while extolling the mighty power of God (having been delivered from the wrath of Saul and his armies)—talks about the fact that God has taken him out into a “broad place.” In other words, he was no longer trapped! He had been set free from seemingly inevitable destruction by his enemies!

This sentiment—regarding being released from certain destruction into the safety of a broad place— is reiterated in other psalms:

“I will be glad and rejoice in Your mercy, For You have considered my trouble; You have known my soul in adversities, And have not shut me up into the hand of the enemy; You have set my feet in a wide place.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭31:7-8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“I called on the Lord in distress; The Lord answered me and set me in a broad place.”

‭‭Psalms‬ ‭118:5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Sometimes, our “tight place”

is the result of our own doings, having allowed ourselves to enter into temptation.

“But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.”

‭‭James‬ ‭1:14‬ ‭NKJV

Other times, the enemy of our souls may have managed to make us feel closed in with no way out. But, whatever the reason for feeling trapped, the answer is the same. When we cry out to our mighty God, He will hear and He will make a way of escape.

“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”

‭‭I Corinthians‬ ‭10:13‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

For today let us know and understand what David knew:

The Lord won’t allow the enemy to keep you trapped.

#100dayswithdavid