«In my distress I called to the Lord, and He answered me; the Lord brought me out into a spacious place!»

Psalm 117:5

When our family visited Israel in 2018, we were taken on a tour of the tunnel built by the ancient Jewish King Hezekiah, which was dug in the 8th century B.C. to supply Jerusalem with water. This is even recounted in the Tanakh: 4 Kings 20:20. Armed with a small flashlight, we began our journey, wading knee-deep in cold water through the pitch-black darkness of the tunnel.

The tension reached its peak when, suddenly, at the narrowest point of the tunnel—where it was impossible to even lift your head because of the low ceiling—a dense crowd formed. So we had to stand there for a full half hour, listening to the deafening noise of the fifth-graders walking ahead of us.

Just imagine: damp rock clings tightly to you on both sides, the ceiling presses down from above, and people are jostling you from the front and back… For some reason, after a while, it starts to feel like you’re running out of oxygen, and you get a very strong urge to get out into the open as soon as possible. And the thought that this is only halfway through the journey offers no comfort at all.

It all happened so spontaneously and unexpectedly that it caught us off guard. What should we do?

Who among us hasn't found themselves in a situation where they're overwhelmed by various problems, fears, discouragement, danger, or responsibility? What do you do in those moments when you don't know what to do? How do you cope? What or who helps you?

I usually follow the psalmist’s advice: «From my distress I called to the Lord, and He answered me; the Lord brought me out into a spacious place!» I turn in prayer to the Lord, my rock and my strength, my Creator and Maker, my heavenly Father. He is good and faithful, and He has never let me down. I lay before Him my struggles, fears, mistakes, and sins, and ask for forgiveness, for wisdom, for renewed strength, and for a sense of peace. And something amazing happens: He replaces my claustrophobia with a sense of openness; instead of fear, He gives me peace; instead of panic—confidence. He truly leads me out into the open.

What does it take? Just turn to Him in prayer and start living according to His will. One day Joshua said:

«Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest; take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls; for My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.»

(Matthew 11:28)

Put your trust in Him today!

(By the way, as it turned out at the end of the tunnel incident, the children—who, for some reason, had been allowed in unsupervised—had simply decided to go for a swim. But the incident caused so much anxiety among the tourists that today every tour guide in Jerusalem knows about it, and new rules have even been introduced for walking through King Hezekiah’s Tunnel.)        

Psalm 117:1–8

«Praise the Lord! For He is good,

and His mercy endures forever.

Let Israel say:

«His mercy endures forever.».

Let the house of Aaron say:

«His mercy endures forever.».

Let those who fear the Lord say:

«His mercy endures forever.».

In my time of trouble, I called upon the Lord—

and He led me out into the open.

The Lord is on my side—and I will not be afraid:

What will that person do to me?

The Lord helps me—

Triumphantly, I look at my enemies.

It is better to trust in the Lord,

»than to rely on people."