A couple of months ago, I met with my Spiritual Director to process the sense that the Holy Spirit kept directing me to scriptures and thoughts about my feelings of being in a “large place,” when in reality, I felt very cramped and confined in life.
Over and over I kept finding scripture passages about the wideness of life with God, and how He has prepared us for a large experience, one that He has dreamed for us and has surrounded us with adventure with Him. Even while fighting for his life David seems to have felt that the Lord had not handed him “over to the enemy; You have set my feet in a large place.” Psalm 31:8 NASB.
And I definitely felt surrounded by enemies: a new autoimmune diagnosis, a daughter with debilitating depression, financial insecurity, and the aging process, to name a few. Some days it was hard to breathe in the reality of peace that I know is mine as a child of God.
As I began to sit with several scriptures that dealt with my position in a large place, I also began to see a theme developing of just who God is to me in that space. Meditating on these words literally opened me up to breathe again. God is my bedrock, my high craig, my castle, my avenger, my protector, and my companion. If God is with me in these ways, we MUST be in a large space.
After my session with my Director, I got out my art journaling materials and allowed the Lord to lead me through a creative process, continuing to reflect on the irony of feeling hemmed in while in reality being situated in the large place Christ has for me.
As I sit looking at the two pages I created, I can actually feel the sensation of being boxed in on one page and the release and spirit of freedom on the other. The final words God gave to me as I played with these images were “This is the kingdom of God – not just your limited vision. You are making a kingdom-sized impact, whether you see it or not.
If you are feeling hemmed in with life, I invite you to meditate on the following scriptures: Psalm 16:6,11; Psalm 17:5; Psalm 18:36; Psalm 30:8. Identify your enemies, but notice how God is showing up for you. You may find yourself feeling a lot more free with plenty of room to breathe.