Tight

“Hear me when I call , O God of my righteousness: thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer.” Psalm 4:1 (

Though I looked okay on the outside, inside I was screaming and flailing about.

I was stressed, anxious, worried and overwhelmed. I felt like something was pressing in on me, pushing me down emotionally and preventing me from escaping my situation. The more these feelings built up, the more I wanted to lash out, strike out, or push back against my burdens.

Outside I looked fine; inside I was a mess.

Do you ever feel this way? Stress comes at all of us every day, in a thousand different ways. Job stress, money stress, house stress, and medical stress, relationship stress — the list goes on and on. Try as we might, we can’t escape it in this broken world. We feel trapped and imprisoned by these things we cannot change, and they weigh heavily on us.

When I read this verse today, I was struck by the explanation in my Bible for the word, “relief.” It literally means, “make room for me in tight places.” Wow. I can totally identify with that idea!

I know what it feels like to want someone to come along and make room for me in my tight places. To remove the boundaries and burdens which threaten to smother me with their nearness.

My stress level mounts, my blood pumps in my ears, and my hope takes flight. Whether it is the little irritations in life like a car cutting me off the big burdens of wondering about my future, I know those tight places all too intimately.

We all do.

I love that Psalm 4:1 reminds us there is Someone who can come and offer relief. So many times, we try to make our own space in our tight places — handling things independently and attempting to solve problems without ever calling on the One who best knows how to make room for us.

God is faithful to give me emotional elbow room, easing my burdens and offering me His wisdom. He shows me mercy when I call on Him, hearing my prayers and rescuing me from tight places.

So even though I feel stressed, anxious, worried and overwhelmed, Im calling out to God, and letting Him find me in me tight place, making room where I thought there was none.

Father God, thank You for being the God who is near. When my tight places press in on me, Your presence is what I need. Thank You for offering me relief no matter what my circumstances. Help me remember to call on You in my tight places. In