A Broad Place

Today's theme is from the last verse in today's psalm: the Lord has brought me out into a broad place….because I am God's delight. A broad place; clearly implied to be a good place, a desirable place; a place where we are blessed to go when God delights in us. The opposite of a narrow place; a place where we feel pinched; a place where we have little room to move; a place where the space is filled with…..just us.

If we take our theme from today's psalm, we will notice that the text does not instruct us to create a broad space for ourselves, but promises that a broad space will be provided….by God, who will bring us into said broad place simply because God delights in us. And because God delights in us just as we are (one of the few, albeit absolutely steadfast things that I know about God), then the broad place must be in our midst….already. We must be sitting on a gold mine of a broad place, here and now.

We only need to see it….under all of the clutter, the behind all of the junk that we have heaped upon ourselves and our precious time, beneath all of the seemingly urgent and yet unimportant busywork and distracting temptation that can hijack our days and our lives.

And so today I invite us to find the broad space that God has already provided. I invite us to identify the few things that are truly worthy of our precious time, and to see the things that are not…..not even close. One tool that can be helpful in this endeavor is the urgent//Important Matrix that has been attributed to both President Eisenhower and Dr. Stephen Covey. And here is how it works.

Make a matrix with four quadrants like the one below. Each of the four quadrants weighs the urgency of a given thing against its importance. Item that go in the quadrants on the left have low importance while items on the right have high importance. Likewise, items in the top boxes are urgent, while the items in the bottom boxes are not urgent. 

Next, make a list of everything on your to do list tomorrow. Everything that will consume your time. All day. Every thing. Then place each item on your list in one of the boxes in the matrix. And if your list is anything like my list, you may be surprised to see how much of your time is consumed by items that land on the left side of the matrix….the unimportant side. And yet the things that are truly worthy the time of our lives fall on the right hand side. Those are the parts of our day that warrant our attention. While the items in the boxes on the left are the thieves that obscure our God-given broad place.




I keep this tool posted in my calendar. Whenever my time seems to spiral out of control, I return to this matrix to help me see that the broad place is indeed in my midst. 


Today's invitation for tomorrow: 
Take a moment to discern our use of time and re-cognize that the Lord has already brought us out into a broad place….because we are God's delight.

Psalm 18:1-20

א  לַמְנַצֵּחַ, לְעֶבֶד יְהוָה--לְדָוִד: אֲשֶׁר דִּבֶּר, לַיהוָה,    אֶת-דִּבְרֵי, הַשִּׁירָה הַזֹּאת-- בְּיוֹם הִצִּיל-יְהוָה אוֹתוֹ מִכַּף כָּל-אֹיְבָיו,    וּמִיַּד שָׁאוּל.	1 For the Leader. [A Psalm] of David the servant of the LORD, who spoke unto the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul;
ב  וַיֹּאמַר--    אֶרְחָמְךָ יְהוָה חִזְקִי.	2 And he said: I love you, O LORD, my strength.
ג  יְהוָה, סַלְעִי וּמְצוּדָתִי--    וּמְפַלְטִי: אֵלִי צוּרִי, אֶחֱסֶה-בּוֹ;    מָגִנִּי וְקֶרֶן-יִשְׁעִי, מִשְׂגַּבִּי.	3 The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; my shield, and my horn of salvation, my high tower.
ד  מְהֻלָּל, אֶקְרָא יְהוָה;    וּמִן-אֹיְבַי, אִוָּשֵׁעַ.	4 Praised, I cry, is the LORD, and I am saved from my enemies.
ה  אֲפָפוּנִי חֶבְלֵי-מָוֶת;    וְנַחֲלֵי בְלִיַּעַל יְבַעֲתוּנִי.	5 The cords of death encompassed me, and the floods of Belial assailed me.
ו  חֶבְלֵי שְׁאוֹל סְבָבוּנִי;    קִדְּמוּנִי, מוֹקְשֵׁי מָוֶת.	6 The cords of Sheol surrounded me; the snares of death confronted me.
ז  בַּצַּר-לִי, אֶקְרָא יְהוָה--    וְאֶל-אֱלֹהַי אֲשַׁוֵּעַ: יִשְׁמַע מֵהֵיכָלוֹ קוֹלִי;    וְשַׁוְעָתִי, לְפָנָיו תָּבוֹא בְאָזְנָיו.	7 In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God; out of His temple He heard my voice, and my cry came before Him unto His ears.
ח  וַתִּגְעַשׁ וַתִּרְעַשׁ, הָאָרֶץ--    וּמוֹסְדֵי הָרִים יִרְגָּזוּ; וַיִּתְגָּעֲשׁוּ,    כִּי-חָרָה לוֹ.	8 Then the earth shook and quaked, the foundations also of the mountains trembled; they were shaken, because He was enflamed.
ט  עָלָה עָשָׁן, בְּאַפּוֹ--    וְאֵשׁ-מִפִּיו תֹּאכֵל; גֶּחָלִים,    בָּעֲרוּ מִמֶּנּוּ.	9 Smoke arose up in His nostrils, and fire out of His mouth did devour; coals flamed forth from Him.
י  וַיֵּט שָׁמַיִם, וַיֵּרַד;    וַעֲרָפֶל, תַּחַת רַגְלָיו.	10 He bowed the heavens also, and came down; and thick darkness was under His feet.
יא  וַיִּרְכַּב עַל-כְּרוּב, וַיָּעֹף;    וַיֵּדֶא, עַל-כַּנְפֵי-רוּחַ.	11 And He rode upon a cherub, and he flew; He swooped down upon the wings of the wind.
יב  יָשֶׁת חֹשֶׁךְ, סִתְרוֹ--    סְבִיבוֹתָיו סֻכָּתוֹ; חֶשְׁכַת-מַיִם,    עָבֵי שְׁחָקִים.	12 He made darkness His hiding-place, His pavilion round about Him; darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.
יג  מִנֹּגַהּ, נֶגְדּוֹ:    עָבָיו עָבְרוּ--בָּרָד, וְגַחֲלֵי-אֵשׁ.	13 At the brightness before Him, there passed through His thick clouds hailstones and coals of fire.
יד  וַיַּרְעֵם בַּשָּׁמַיִם, יְהוָה--וְעֶלְיוֹן, יִתֵּן קֹלוֹ;    בָּרָד, וְגַחֲלֵי-אֵשׁ.	14 The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Most High gave forth His voice; hailstones and coals of fire.
טו  וַיִּשְׁלַח חִצָּיו, וַיְפִיצֵם;    וּבְרָקִים רָב, וַיְהֻמֵּם.	15 And He sent out His arrows, and scattered them; and He shot forth lightnings, and discomfited them.
טז  וַיֵּרָאוּ, אֲפִיקֵי מַיִם,    וַיִּגָּלוּ, מוֹסְדוֹת תֵּבֵל: מִגַּעֲרָתְךָ יְהוָה--    מִנִּשְׁמַת, רוּחַ אַפֶּךָ.	16 And the channels of waters appeared, and the foundations of the world were laid bare, at Your rebuke, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.
יז  יִשְׁלַח מִמָּרוֹם, יִקָּחֵנִי;    יַמְשֵׁנִי, מִמַּיִם רַבִּים.	17 He sent from on high, He took me; He drew me out of many waters.
יח  יַצִּילֵנִי, מֵאֹיְבִי עָז;    וּמִשֹּׂנְאַי, כִּי-אָמְצוּ מִמֶּנִּי.	18 He delivered me from my enemy most strong, and from them that hated me, for they were too mighty for me.
יט  יְקַדְּמוּנִי בְיוֹם-אֵידִי;    וַיְהִי-יְהוָה לְמִשְׁעָן לִי.	19 They confronted me in the day of my calamity; but the LORD was my support.
כ  וַיּוֹצִיאֵנִי לַמֶּרְחָב;    יְחַלְּצֵנִי, כִּי חָפֵץ בִּי.	20 He brought me out into a broad place; He delivered me, because He delighted in me.