Tight Places

God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Psalm 46:1 "We serve a God of the 'tight spots.' In those places, the God of power is standing by." Chris Tiegreen

One of the meanings of the Hebrew word for trouble is "a tight place." Someone then translated Psalm 46:1 as "He is abundantly available in every tight place." I think that's true, and the Lord knows, life can bring us into many a tight place. What we do "with Him" in those places will determine the state of our spiritual life.

Tiegreen says that very often in these places, all God shows us is His "poker face." For non-gamblers, this is the facial expression that a poker player will show to those he's playing against. It's the poker player's ploy to not give away what cards he is holding. It's his hope that the others have no idea of what in his hand. It may be hard to think of the Father in such a way, and for sure He does not gamble with our wellbeing, but just as surely, He will lead us into places, often very tight places, where He will give us no indication of what He's doing or why we're there. Tiegreen writes, "What we choose to believe here is critical." What will we believe here? If we're in such a place now, what are we choosing to believe....about Him? About His Word and His promises? It's a choice. What's ours? What's yours?

God is a Master of the Poker Face. He leads us along and then we suddenly find ourselves in a spot where we seemingly cannot go forward or in any other direction. We cry out. He doesn't answer. In that place, other dangers can also appear. We continue to cry out and He continues to say nothing. We believe He's there, but He's showing us no response. And now we're starting to wonder if He really is there? Once we've begun that, we open the door to start wondering about a great many things. His faithfulness. The power of His promises. Most of all, we can begin to wonder if we can trust Him. As Tiegreen says, what we choose to believe here is critical. It's so easy to say we will trust Him....until we have no choice but to trust Him. When the sides of the tight place begin to press ever tighter, and the way through and out appears more impossible to breach than ever. He promised to be abundantly available. So where is He?

This is the way of God. He took Moses to the backside of the desert. He took Joseph into a prison. He took Daniel into a lion's den. He took Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into a flaming furnace. So will He take you and me. What will we believe? Can we reach such a place of trust that we can say with Job, "Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him!" He didn't slay Job, and He did deliver him, but Job saw nothing but His "poker face" for a considerable length of time before He did. In His tight place, He chose to believe. The same choice will come before us. Maybe it's here now. If not, it is on its way.

Tight places and poker faces. We are living in days that will bring His church such experiences in abundance. May we choose to believe Him when all we can do is cling to what He has already promised, even if He's not presently speaking or showing Himself. He is abundantly available. Trust Him in that. Whatever your tight place is, He and His power are there with you. Know that beyond the poker face is a heart aflame with love and care for you. In His time and in His way, He will show it through. Choose to believe it, because it's true.

Blessings,

Pastor O