Freedom from a Big Heart

“The troubles of my heart are enlarged: [O] bring thou me out of my distresses.” (Ps 25:17 AV)

Boy, do I feel this way sometimes.  Actually, most of the time.  Trouble seems to be on my mind and heart without any relief.  They are mostly self-inflicted; I think.  I noticed the troubles exist.  David is in distress because they are enlarged.  Rather, the troubles, whether real or imagined; are larger than they were in the past.  The problem isn’t the trouble.  The problem is they are becoming so large that they are now a distress.  The troubles are growing at a rate that he cannot maintain.  The distress is caused by troubles of the heart being too large for him to bear.  Like I said, these could be real or imagined.  They could be self-inflicted or influences from without.  David does mention sin.  That is certainly a trouble.  David mentions his enemies as well.  It seems David is facing adversity from all fronts.  That would make it all seem larger than it is.

We all have to deal with our battle over sin.  I, for one, cannot wait until our glorification.  When the old man is finally dealt a death blow, what a day that will be!  The majority of our trouble arises from that old man.  However, one of the ways we can reduce the trouble of our heart is to treat each trouble separately.  If we can see them for the smaller things than that they are individually, it should help to shoulder them all.  The key is the LORD.  David prays!  Prayer is where deliverance starts.  Pouring out to the LORD how we feel is important.  Dealing with our emotional state is a must.  If we are anxious, fearful, proud, overwhelmed, bitter, etc., sitting on these feelings is only going to make it worse.  When David ask deliverance from his distress, that is exactly what he was doing.  He was asking deliverance from an emotional state.  In the psalm, he does ask for deliverance from the situations which he was facing.  But that may take a bit of time.  What he can ask for is deliverance from his emotional state immediately.  That is the one thing he can change.

Note also the plural form of troubles and distresses.  David is not facing one single state of mind or heart.  He is overwhelmed with all sorts of emotions.  His mind and heart are flooded with all sorts of emotions.  Some of them are contrary to others.  This can be very confusing.  He feels guilt over his sin.  He feels fear regarding his enemies.  He feels impatience at the lack of justice on those who would inflict harm.  He feels remorse and regret over those things he has failed to do.  David is flooded with it all.  It is important to address each emotional state, individually and specifically.  David is not asking from deliverance from fear alone.  He is not seeking deliverance from impatience only.  David is not seeking deliverance from regret all by itself.  He is seeking relief from it all.  In short, David is seeking complete peace and contentment of mind and heart.  Perhaps these emotions cannot be overcome in one prayer.  Sometimes, there are emotions we are feeling of which we are unaware.  Regardless, prayer is where it starts.  Identifying them comes next.  Seeking deliverance is the result.