On the morning of March 29th I wrote…
I’m gazing out my window this morning at clear blue skies! The rain of yesterday has ceased and the wind has dissipated the clouds of earlier this morning. Those clouds greeted me with the morning light, as I was up before the dawn. My mind and my spirit tormented by the circumstances of life at the present time. I questioned God and sought for His answers. His Holy Spirit then began dissipating the clouds hanging over my life. The wind of His Spirit began clearing my mind, like the winds outdoors which clear the sky. The ornamental pear trees are now in full bloom, giving the town the appearance of a ‘Spring Wonder Land
In the same way, the circumstances of life can keep us from fully entering in to those things He desires for us. They distract us and avert our attention from Him. I realized this upon awakening this morning. I was imagining myself stuck in a hole, struggling to get out and feeling trapped. It was then that our most precious Lord and Savior gave me a flash back of an image I had seen on-line just yesterday. It was an image of a man in Georgia , who had fallen into a muddy pit of clay. He was buried alive, yet still living. As I watched the video of it, a chill ran down my spine and I thought, “How awful!” I watched as firefighters were pulling him out. He was moving in slow motion. He apparently had been there for some time and had become exhausted from the struggle to get out. He was completely caked and covered in the muddy clay, barely able to breathe. His features couldn’t even be seen. After the Lord brought this scene to my mind, I thought, “Yes, this is me! I’m buried alive, yet still living, unable to get myself out of the pit, too weak from the struggle and hardly able to breathe” Immediately, I thought of Psalm 40…
“I waited patiently for the LORD;
And He inclined to me,
And heard my cry.”
The Lord always hears our cries when we wait on Him! He calls us to not only wait, but to wait patiently! Waiting isn’t easy, that is for sure. We aren’t just waiting, but we are waiting for the Lord. He is right there and He listens to us. We are not alone. He hears the cries of our hearts!
“He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,
Out of the miry clay,
And set my feet upon a rock,
And Established my steps.”
Oh, that image is vivid in my mind! I see those firefighters taking hold of that man’s weak arms to lift him out of that horrible pit, that miry clay. In the same way our Lord takes hold of us to lift us from the pit. The pit can be the circumstances of our lives or sin which so easily entangles us. We struggle and squirm only to be pulled further down and encased in the miry clay. We become exhausted in trying in our own strength to free ourselves. All the while we have a Savior standing near. He never leaves us in the pit, but He lifts us up, gives us renewed vision and helps us to stand. We need to wait patiently for Him and call out to Him, rather than struggle. He will turn to us and hear our cries. He will not only bring us out, but He will also set our feet upon a rock, so that we won’t slip back. He is the rock. Jesus is the Rock of our salvation! We look to Him and our steps are established and steadied.
“He has put a new song in my mouth-
Praise to our God;
Many will see it and fear,
And will trust in the LORD.”
Just as I’m writing this, evening is falling and there is a mocking bird singing outside the window. I’m reminded that He has given us a new song to sing! A song of praise! A song of praise for who He is, what He has done and who He is to us! We may not yet have come to the other side of those trials or difficulties, but we can offer Him praise for being there and for the hope that we have in Him. Many will see and be amazed and know that they can trust in Him as well!
“Blessed is the man who makes
The LORD his trust,
And does not respect the proud, nor
such as turn aside to lies.”
We are so blessed when we make the Lord our trust! The word here for ‘respect’ means “has not turned to”. We are to turn to the Lord, to cry out to Him, rather than to the proud who think that they have all the answers or who have turned aside to lies. Our confidence needs to be in Jesus! This many times means waiting on Him, rather than losing patience and looking to the “quick fix” that so many look for.
“Many, O LORD my God, are Your
wonderful works
Which You have done;
And Your thoughts toward us
Cannot be recounted to You in order;
If I would declare and speak of them,
They are more than can be numbered.”
The best thing to do, when we are in the pit of despair, is to start recalling all of His wonderful works! We need to begin recounting all those things which He has done while we have been waiting. There is an old chorus with these words, “Count your blessings, name them one by one; and it will surprise you what the Lord has done!” Let us remember our blessings and start counting. His thoughts are always toward us and He is ever mindful of us. How awesome is this to think about! His thoughts of us are more than can be numbered. Now doesn’t this make you feel loved and cared about even now!
The next portion of Psalm 40 is quoted in the book of ‘Hebrews’ of the New Testament in the Scriptures. Here the writer inspired by the Holy Spirit writes…
“You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings.
But you have given me a body to offer.
You were not pleased with burnt offerings
Or other offerings for sin.
Then I said, ‘Look, I have come to do your will, O God-
As it is written about me in the scriptures.’”
Throughout the Old Testament we can find references to Jesus and who He is. This is a reference to Jesus and what He has done for us. What better time for us to meditate on this portion, then when we are approaching the Passover observance; and are coming up to the day in which we remember His sacrifice, on our behalf, upon the cross of Calvary ? Jesus had prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane
“First, Christ said, ‘You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings or burnt offerings
or other offerings for sin, nor were you pleased with them.’ (though they are required by the law of Moses). Then he said, ‘Look, I have come to do your will.’ He cancels the first covenant in order to put the second into effect. For God’s will was for us to be made holy by the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ, once for all time.”
“Under the old covenant, the priest stands and ministers before the altar day after day, offering the same sacrifices again and again, which can never take away sins. But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand.”
Our High Priest is Jesus, our Savior! He is the one standing above that pit of despair and hopelessness, ready to hear our cry and to take our arms and help us up! We can go right into the presence of God, sprinkled with the blood of Jesus. He has put into effect a new covenant, in His blood. The scriptures say to hold tightly to Him, not wavering in hope, but trusting in Him to keep His promise. We are to encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. We need to keep our eyes on Jesus, the one who perfects our faith.
The Psalmist David goes on to speak of those things the Lord has done for him and to declare His faithfulness and salvation. He calls upon the Lord’s tender mercies, His lovingkindness, His truth and His covenant promise to preserve him. He says, ‘Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me; O Lord make haste to help me!” for his heart fails him and he is beside himself with anguish. He is still in that pit of miry clay, but he is looking forward to the Lord’s covenant promise. He is waiting for that deliverance and is speaking out of faith. There are those around him who mock him saying, “Aha, aha!” and the Psalmist David says….
“But I am poor and needy;
Yet, the Lord thinks upon me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
Do not delay, O my God.”
The Hebrew word here for ‘poor’ means afflicted, one whose outward condition makes him needy, one who is depressed, lowly and humble. Are you in the pit as David was? Our Messiah has come to preach good news to the poor. To be of lowly position doesn’t indicate a lack of faith. (Read Hebrews chapter 11- about the heroes of the faith and what they endured) David was still in that pit, waiting with a persevering faith for his deliverance, when he wrote this psalm.
Do you feel like you are stuck in a muddy pit of clay? Are you exhausted by the struggle? Are you too weak to get out? Do you gaze through the glass desiring to enter in?
The good news is that Jesus has died and risen from the dead! If we have turned to Him to save us, then we are sprinkled with the blood of the new covenant. We may enter in! He is standing nearby and He is reaching out to us. Wait patiently with a persevering faith! Our deliverance is near!
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