Finding Strength in the Tight Spots: A Lesson from David
Psalm 4:1 ...thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress…
Have you ever heard the expression, “I was between a rock and a hard place!”? Furthermore, have you ever been in one? If so, then you will understand what David meant when he mentioned that he was at one point “in distress” before The Lord helped him. The word “distress” here implies a narrow, small, tight, rocky place of trouble and discomfort where an adversary has you pinned in. This reminds me quite literally of the time when David was running for his life and at one point was seeking shelter in a cave for refuge. He knew what it was to be in a tight spot! Moreover, he also knew what it was to be helped while he was there!
In verse one, he starts out by praying, “Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness; thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress…” He is reminding God of what He has already done, and calling on Him for assistance again! And what is he reminding God of? He is reminding God of the fact that when he was in a tight spot, God “enlarged” him.
Now, here’s what I want you to notice; first, David was IN distress. This references the PLACE (or the circumstance, if you will) that he was located. And second, although he was IN distress (a tight place), yet God enlarged HIM. See it? The text says, “…thou hast enlarged me…” Here’s the point; God did not change the location David found himself in, but rather He simply made David BIGGER than the location he was in!
When I first read this verse, admittedly I thought that God set him in a larger place to get him out of his tight spot. And isn’t that what we often ask God to do? We often ask God to move us away from the difficulties in which we find ourselves. But what if God wants to change YOU and make you bigger than your circumstances, rather than relocating you to get you away from trouble? What if God wants you to grow in strength and favor with Him to become an overcomer, so that no matter what trouble comes, you won’t look to be delivered out of that place, but rather become bigger than that place? Because here’s the truth; once you become bigger than your environment, you will no longer be the one to have to change, because the place will have to make room for you! When this happens, now it is the trouble that is in a tight spot!
~ Pastor Gary Caudill
Have you ever heard the expression, “I was between a rock and a hard place!”? Furthermore, have you ever been in one? If so, then you will understand what David meant when he mentioned that he was at one point “in distress” before The Lord helped him. The word “distress” here implies a narrow, small, tight, rocky place of trouble and discomfort where an adversary has you pinned in. This reminds me quite literally of the time when David was running for his life and at one point was seeking shelter in a cave for refuge. He knew what it was to be in a tight spot! Moreover, he also knew what it was to be helped while he was there!
In verse one, he starts out by praying, “Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness; thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress…” He is reminding God of what He has already done, and calling on Him for assistance again! And what is he reminding God of? He is reminding God of the fact that when he was in a tight spot, God “enlarged” him.
Now, here’s what I want you to notice; first, David was IN distress. This references the PLACE (or the circumstance, if you will) that he was located. And second, although he was IN distress (a tight place), yet God enlarged HIM. See it? The text says, “…thou hast enlarged me…” Here’s the point; God did not change the location David found himself in, but rather He simply made David BIGGER than the location he was in!
When I first read this verse, admittedly I thought that God set him in a larger place to get him out of his tight spot. And isn’t that what we often ask God to do? We often ask God to move us away from the difficulties in which we find ourselves. But what if God wants to change YOU and make you bigger than your circumstances, rather than relocating you to get you away from trouble? What if God wants you to grow in strength and favor with Him to become an overcomer, so that no matter what trouble comes, you won’t look to be delivered out of that place, but rather become bigger than that place? Because here’s the truth; once you become bigger than your environment, you will no longer be the one to have to change, because the place will have to make room for you! When this happens, now it is the trouble that is in a tight spot!
~ Pastor Gary Caudill