“When hard pressed, I cried to the Lord; he brought me into a spacious place. The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” (Psalm 118:5,6).

What makes you feel hard pressed? Do you feel weighed down by others’ expectations and judgments or burdened by having to maintain cultural standards of living for yourself or your family? Do you, like me, ever feel hard pressed by your own fallibility? What will it take for me to finally change and be the person I want to be? Sometimes I feel hard pressed by the abounding skepticism and unbelief directed toward our good God.

Suddenly, I understand why these verses ring so clearly for me. I, too, need to stand unburdened. I, too, long for God’s spacious place.

Jesus was hard pressed by friends and adversaries alike. But he walked with his heart fixed on his Father, and so his joy was unquenchable. God’s love and approval gave him an endlessly spacious place to stand, regardless of outward circumstance. Jesus’ perspective can be summed up with these words from Psalm 16:6: “The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.”

You and I have God’s love and approval. Think about that, and let the burdens of judgment and criticism start falling from your shoulders. You can stand up straight and breathe. Can you envision life under the spacious tent of God’s love?