Back in June 1979, I was invited by Dr. Yonghi Cho to speak at his church in Seoul, Korea. It began with a midweek service, with Dr. Cho as my interpreter. At this time, his church was the largest in the world, so it was a special privilege to speak there.

As you can imagine, I felt nervous. I spoke on Psalm 118:5. Well, it must have been all right because, after the service, Dr. Cho said, “I liked your message, so I am going to use it on my radio program tomorrow.” I was more than relieved. Well, I want to use that text, although the message I shared in Korea was a little different than what I will be sharing today in this letter.

Psalm 118 begins with this repetition about God, “His mercy endures forever.” Mercy is a dimension of the character of God. The word is ‘cheçed,’ and it speaks of God’s enduring love. It can also be translated as ‘steadfast love’ or ‘loving kindness.’ With that in mind, we will look at Psalm 118, especially verse 5. Remembering Christmas and Calvary, the ultimate expression of God’s mercy.

O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good:
because his mercy endureth for ever.
Let Israel now say,
that his mercy endureth for ever.
Let the house of Aaron now say,
that his mercy endureth for ever.
Let them now that fear the Lord say,
that his mercy endureth for ever.

I called upon the Lord in distress:
the Lord answered me, and set me in a large place.
(Other translations – a broad place, a place of freedom).

Psalm 118:1-5

So, we come to verse 5, which illustrates that mercy with four main points:

IN MY DISTRESS

The psalmist confesses that he is in a time of distress. He doesn’t necessarily make it clear what his distress involves. However, he is in distress. He later declares that other nations are coming against him.

What is bringing you to distress right now? 

You may be facing personal distress, financial distress, physical distress, family or marriage distress, etc. What is keeping you awake at night? What is causing you anxiety? What is your distress?

I CALLED ON THE LORD

The psalmist knew what to do: He called on the Lord. Often, that is the last thing people do. Instead, they try to sort things out for things out for themselves. The better way, however, is to call out to the Lord, seeking His wisdom regarding what needs to be done.

THE LORD ANSWERED ME

Admit your God is a God who answers prayer, especially the faith-filled prayer of an earnest believer. Of course, God’s answer may differ from what we would like to happen, but God answers prayer.

HE SET ME IN A LARGE PLACE

In other words, God was at work in the midst of your distress. He doesn’t want to simply take the distress away, which is what most people pray for. Rather, He desires to enlarge you; God often has plans for us that we don’t even realize, and sometimes He uses distress to get our attention. 

If you can, by faith, successfully navigate your distress, God will bring you into a larger place. In other words, your faith will be greater than before your distress; it will be enlarged.

Now, I need to say that the distress was not sent by God but that God uses the circumstances to cause you to grow in faith. Years ago, I heard a bible teacher say, “What God doesn’t save you from or deliver you out of, He will perfect you through.”

God, in His sovereignty, can often use distress or trouble to bring about His greater purpose for your life (Romans 8:28). If you have never been tested, you are probably not growing.

A NEW TESTAMENT EXAMPLE

Jesus gave His disciples and His church the authority they needed, and they were in turn to ‘Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations.’ It was a world-wide agenda. They were to be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

We see, though, that by Acts 8, they are still in Jerusalem and the surrounding area. What happened? “And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem (verse 1).” They undoubtedly prayed for relief. However, God had another plan, as the distress and persecution caused them to be “scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.” The end result was that the Lord’s command to go into all the world began, and they, in turn, turned the world upside down.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

I write this Langstaff Letter from the middle of America while attempting to see what is happening in the world and the church. Right now, as we stand at the beginning of the New Year, we don’t necessarily know what this year may bring. From my perspective, I believe circumstances are going to get worse in America and the world, involving distress and persecution.

But amid it all, if believers and the church will call out to God, we could see God bringing us all into a ‘larger place.’ Whether it be individual Christians and church congregations, or the bible believing church as a whole, God will work in our lives in a new way, bringing us into a larger place in Him.