Lying in a familiar tight place, head gripped in an immovable vise, restricted by an MRI tube of loud darkness, I closed my eyes and prayed as always. Our Lord’s comforting presence assured me that I was not alone. I asked Him for help to manage whatever the test revealed, knowing He would guide me, yoked to Christ in all things.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls (Mt. 11:29 ESV).
God focused me on the rhythms and melodies of the MRI magnets. His songs again flooded my thoughts, helping me praise Him in His unending love for me in Christ.
A tight and immovable place became a wide open space…of worship!
Are you also living with limitations and tighter places? Does it feel like things are closing in, overwhelming, suffocating?
In that tight place, our Father kept “singing” about His bringing me out…but within the context of my current limitations!
How can our limitations be a broad place, wide open and free, in God’s love? Perhaps He will encourage you as He did me, even as things tighten around you.
He brought me out of the miry clay,
He set my feet on the Rock to stay;
He puts a song in my soul today,
A song of praise, hallelujah!
(“He Brought Me Out,” Gilmour, H. L., 1898)
He brought us out to His love
This song I used to teach children rang into my mind during that MRI test!
Remember when He brought you out…in repentance and belief in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior? Oh, I remember! What a shower of His grace and love, completely forgiven and cleansed in His tender mercy!
My heart was distressed ’neath Jehovah’s dread frown,
And low in the pit where my sins dragged me down;
I cried to the Lord from the deep miry clay,
Who tenderly brought me out to golden day.
He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me,
because he delighted in me (Ps. 18:19 ESV).
He brought us out to His pleasant lines
My Good Shepherd is gently teaching me—my body’s limitations are His pleasant lines with boundaries on a day’s tasks. Yoked with Jesus, who delights in me, they’ve become moments for deep breathing and worship. Sometimes, they’re caused by interrupted sleep, sudden attacks of pain, or difficult situations. But the limitations keep me safe because I seek Him more…and somehow, this is becoming a paradoxically pleasant and beautiful place as He carries me to my beautiful inheritance.
He placed me upon the strong Rock by His side…
I will lift up my hands toward your commandments, which I love,
and I will meditate on your statutes (Ps. 119:148 ESV).
My steps were established and here I’ll abide…
Even a courageous person’s steps are determined by the LORD,
so how can anyone understand his own way? (Prov. 20:24 CSB)
No danger of falling while here I remain…
But stand by His grace until the crown I gain.
Praise the LORD!
For it is good to sing praises to our God;
for it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting (Ps. 147:1 ESV).
He brought us out, freed and released as we yoke to Jesus
It feels like an adventure with Jesus! When tight places squeeze, releasing it all into His easy yoke (Mt. 11:30) and continual leading is His gift of overwhelming peace and rest. I used to push back against the pain, not only begging Him for relief but also stressing over how I’d be able to accomplish tasks, scurrying to figure out how to prevent (i.e., control) challenges.
No more.
Our loving Father has brought me out into such rested healing, even as pain makes my body clench and tighten. Wherever He takes me, this latest layer of suffering has become His gift of grace, a freeing peace…
For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
for my hope is from him (Ps. 62:5 ESV).
He gave me a song, ’twas a new song of praise;
By day and by night its sweet notes I will raise…
My heart’s overflowing, I’m happy and free;
I’ll praise my Redeemer, Who has rescued me.
The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way (Ps. 37:23 ESV).
He makes the rough places a plain!
I have loved singing Handel’s Messiah and this glorious promise! It’s one of the songs I heard in that MRI, but beautifully, it didn’t just apply to our future inheritance… God also applied it to my current tight and rough places of ongoing suffering. He is at work in both of us!
I have set the LORD always before me;
because he is at my right hand,
I shall not be shaken (Ps. 16:8 ESV).
I’ll tell of the pit, with its gloom and despair,
I’ll praise the dear Father, who answered my prayer;
I’ll sing my new song, the glad story of love,
Then join in the chorus with the saints above.
Singing God’s glorious love story, into our limitations
What songs of God’s love for you in Christ are His gifts to you today? We each have different musical backgrounds and experiences, but so many varied “Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” have already been His grace-filled help to each of us when we suffer. This week’s YouTube playlist gift shares some older and newer songs of His love and delight in us as His beloved in Christ, His gifts from this MRI scan. Praying they help you too, body, mind, soul, as we worship our Lord…who brought us out! Sign up here, if it would bless you!
If you are new to our ministry, we have other helpful resources for suffering Christian women:
To hear Scripture devotional with calming hymn playing, click here for YouTube podcast.
Devotional Bible study prayer journals, available on Amazon. Click for details.
Praying God’s Promises Into Suffering
Near to God: A Devotional Bible Study of God’s Character in Our Suffering
