Psalm 40:1-5 "I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him. Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods. Many, Lord my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare."
While we are in a 'slimy pit of mud and mire', how many of us can truly say that we waited PATIENTLY for the Lord? How many of us instead kick and scream and look everywhere trying to get out by ourselves - then becoming a bit angry at God or ourselves or others for getting us into this situation in the first place. Maybe then feeling helpless and/or hopeless that the situation is ever going to get any better - especially if we are slowly sinking down deeper into this pit. People walk by - maybe friends, and we don't say anything because we don't think they can help anyway - or we do cry out and they don't hear us. Resigning ourselves to a slow, but sure death, but having just a little flicker of hope somewhere deep inside that God could still come through and take our hand (after He reaches down into the muck and finds it) and pull us up. I don't know if it would be patience, but we wait for SOMETHING to happen one way or the other, but we are pretty sure that the Lord will come. Though we are not sure when that will be or how we even know He will. It's just there.
He washes us off and sets our feet on strong sturdy rock, where we would probably fall down into a heap because of our striving to get out of the pit ourselves has made us exhausted. On the firm rock we slowly regain our strength as we bask in the sun and our bodies relax and become one with peace. The Lord is still with us - maybe sitting beside us with His hand on our head - maybe gently stroking our hair or head. Then we finally get out the words, 'Thank you, Jesus.' We tell Him how much we love Him and adore Him and are grateful for His saving grace, regardless of how we got there. His kindness leads us to repentance - for getting there in the first place or if it wasn't our fault - for our reaction to being in that pit... our unbelief.
What could this pit represent in our lives today? Addiction - food, sex, drugs, alcohol, pornography, computer games - dare I say, FaceBook ;) ; Despair; Financial Difficulties; Losing a Job, Home, Friends; Death of a dream, or person; Depression. What could it be for you?
Can we find it in ourselves to wait patiently for the Lord so that He can put a new song in our mouths (instead of the negative song that has been coming out of our mouths? I don't think so. What?? No, I surely can't find it in myself to do that. But God... God can give us the ability to wait - if we settle down and ask. Salvation will come - He is the One Who will put a new song in our mouths. He is the One Who gives us even the ability to praise Him for lifting us up out of our pits afterwards.
What do we have to do? Wait. Pray. Talk. Ask for Help. Receive Help. Fairly easy compared to trying to kick and scream our way out - frantically grabbing hold of whatever is around only to have it snap. Wait. God will not let His Name be trampled by the enemy - He will exalt His Name... and then we will so that the world may know we serve a good and gracious, loving God.
MY SOUL LONGS FOR YOU - Jesus Culture
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