“I just need some space” is a common refrain that rotates in my head when life gets overwhelming, busy, and tiring. It’s a phrase I might say out loud to myself, or a response I might give when someone asks how I am and I’m being honest in reply. As I muse over life with a friend or with my wife, I reflect in such a way that highlights the sense of being crowded in by responsibilities and ‘adulting’.
To say this is stating a fact which demands reflection. Yes, I need some space, but is there so little time for me? It’s difficult to get space away from the tasks, demands, challenges, and responsibilities that build up over time. We all need space away from people, particularly those of us who are more introverted than others and enjoy their own company. To that end, this quiet thought said out loud is a wish for a quieter life. A life that is sustainable and slower than what we’ve got now.
Whether we’re on our own with a diary filled with tasks, whether we’re in the midst of a busy family life going from one activity to the next, or whether we’re empty-nesters or retirees who are busier than we thought without the paid work, sometimes we just crave the space to breathe.
It’s ironic, running about as we do even though we don’t like it and want to keep up with whatever we feel we need to keep up with. We try to make subtle changes in our life, less screen time, have a morning routine, read Atomic Habits and incrementally make changes, habit stack, or put the phone on ‘Do Not Disturb’. Sometimes we just need an overhaul. A forensic examination of all our rushing about and what we might be crowding out. It’s a cycle that hampers our walk with God and our ability to know Jesus deeper and be fruitful in our lives.
A Spacious Place in Scripture
The second half of Psalm 31:8 has stuck with me for some time. I’ve been pleased to find this truth while reading through the Psalms of David. It is a reminder for us in these days of over-activity.
This is a psalm that describes one who is trapped and chased by enemies, but in all the struggle this brings there is God. God, who is powerful to rescue, and who plants feet in a spacious place. We read this short phrase at the back end of v8,
“You have set my feet in a spacious place.” (Psalm 31:8b)
There are instances in our lives when we want space. Even every day, as we talk to a colleague, we don’t want to be interacting with a close-talker who speaks to us while in our personal space. We want adequate space between us and others so we can have a helpful conversation.
We are people who need space. We need physical space to interact in our world, and it should not surprise us that we need space in our heart, our soul, and our mind. We need space to flourish as people, and as the people of God.
Space to Flourish
A helpful image that comes to mind is that of a garden. For plants and vegetables and trees to flourish, there needs to be space. Space between seedlings, space between trunks, space between fruit trees. When the garden is too full or the plants are cramped together, then they do not grow to their full potential. They don’t develop as they should. They need space between one another to access the right nutrients and sunshine in order to flourish.
This is the case for us as faithful followers of Jesus.
We need space to be able to grow, expand, and flourish in the things of God and the ways of God.
We need our feet to be planted in spacious places, where people, attitudes, stuff, and sin won’t crowd out our faith. Like squashed plants and unattended flowers that weeds grow up and choke, we too need space that the Lord provides. Like the parable of the soils (Mark 4:1-20), we want to not only be planted in healthy soil, but we also want to be planted in spacious soil. Soil that is ripe for depth and growth.
I’ve come to realise that this teaching in Psalm 31 is connected further to Jesus. Jesus himself is depicted as a gardener after his resurrection (John 20:11-16). As the Lord has come to set us in a spacious place, the Lord Jesus is the gardener who picks the weeds and prunes the branches in order to help us flourish. After all, as we abide in him we will produce fruit and grow into a healthy fruit giving tree (John 15:1-11).
See how profound this is!?
We are planted in a spacious place, and the Lord has given us nutrients for fruitful faith in him.
As we reflect on our over-filled lives that hinder us from spaciousness, we must examine what is crowding out our space. As we turn to Jesus, he will guide and help us relax into the spacious place he has for us.
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