From the Mire to the Choir

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:

Over the next three days, we will meditate on Psalm 40. The focal point for today's meditation will be verses 1-3, in which David describes the transformative experience of waiting for the Lord.

1        I waited patiently for the LORD;

    he turned to me and heard my cry.

2        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.

3        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.

4        Blessed is the one

    who trusts in the LORD,

who does not look to the proud,

    to those who turn aside to false gods.

5        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.

6        Sacrifice and offering you did not desire—

    but my ears you have opened—

    burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require.

7        Then I said, “Here I am, I have come—

    it is written about me in the scroll.

8        I desire to do your will, my God;

    your law is within my heart.”

9        I proclaim your saving acts in the great assembly;

    I do not seal my lips, LORD,

    as you know.

10      I do not hide your righteousness in my heart;

    I speak of your faithfulness and your saving help.

I do not conceal your love and your faithfulness

    from the great assembly.

11      Do not withhold your mercy from me, LORD;

    may your love and faithfulness always protect me.

12      For troubles without number surround me;

    my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see.

They are more than the hairs of my head,

    and my heart fails within me.

13      Be pleased to save me, LORD;

    come quickly, LORD, to help me.

14      May all who want to take my life

    be put to shame and confusion;

may all who desire my ruin

    be turned back in disgrace.

15      May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”

    be appalled at their own shame.

16      But may all who seek you

    rejoice and be glad in you;

may those who long for your saving help always say,

    “The LORD is great!”

17      But as for me, I am poor and needy;

    may the LORD think of me.

You are my help and my deliverer;

    you are my God, do not delay. (Psalm 40, NIV)

REFLECTIONS:

Lately, it seems that we've been reading a lot about “waiting.” “Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD” (Psalm 27:14). “We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield” (Psalm 33:20). “Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him…” (Psalm 37:7). Continuing this theme, Psalm 40 is a beautiful description of a man who learned to “wait patiently for the LORD” (verse 1)… and, perhaps consequently, this same man experienced God's great deliverance.

I'd like to reiterate something that God has been teaching me through all this focus on “waiting.” Namely, when we wait for the Lord—when we cry out and wait on him to act—we aren't being idle. In this psalm David cries out to the Lord and asks for help. “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” (verses 1-2). Waiting on the Lord is worthwhile because of what he is going to do for us. It is not idleness, nor is it carelessness. And it certainly isn’t complacency. Instead, waiting is that divine activity of expecting God to work. And, he never disappoints us.

Figuratively, David had been down in a horrible pit. He was sinking in the mire. But he waited on the Lord. And God not only pulled him out of the pit, but totally transformed David's outlook on life—he went from grieving his circumstances to praising his God. In essence, God said: “David, I’m going to take you out of the mire and put you in the choir.” “He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God” (verse 3).

In the years following my spinal cord injury, this psalm ministered deeply to my soul. David's testimony in this psalm—his waiting for God to act, his experience of deliverance, his renewal of hope and strength—inspired me to continue looking to the Lord. In many ways, I felt as if I was trapped in a “slimy pit,” bogged down in the “mud and mire.” I was trapped in a broken body and unable to do anything to help myself. Despite my fiercest efforts, I simply could not make my body move and function. As the weeks turned into months, and the months turned into years, I began to drift into a sort of depression—I began to lose hope and focus on the negatives of life. But then, by his grace, God brought this psalm to my attention. I remember reading it for the first time, and experiencing a “revelation” of the sort that Paul describes in Ephesians. 

Somehow, someway his Spirit took these words of David and caused them to come alive in my heart—he opened my eyes to “know the hope to which he had [called me]” (Ephesians 1:17-23). Through divine enablement, I was able to begin waiting patiently for the Lord to move and work in my life. Rather than trusting in my own strength, rather than trusting in my doctors and therapists, I began to put my trust in the Lord (verse 3). And—slowly but surely—he “lifted me out of the slimy pit… [and] set my feet on a rock.” Now, obviously, God did not heal my broken body or change my physical circumstances. But he rescued me nonetheless—and he did so in a much more meaningful way than I could have ever imagined. 

By his grace, God delivered me from my hopeless state and established my feet on a firm foundation—he flooded my heart with stability and contentment and peace. No matter what my circumstances looked like, I knew that I was a beloved child of God. And this knowledge, implanted deep in my soul, caused me to sing a song of praise to our God. I couldn't help but tell others the wonders he had done in my life (verse 5). And because of my song of testimony, others began to be encouraged. God opened up a door for me to share the gospel with individuals, school groups, youth groups, and others. He gave me a platform on which to declare my “hymn of praise”—and many began to “see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him.” 

I'm so grateful for David's testimony! As humbly as I can, I encourage you to let my testimony—joined with David's testimony—be an encouragement to you. God has heard your cry. And he will come to your rescue. So take heart and wait for him.

Are you waiting on the Lord? Are you praying about something and asking, “O God, when are you going to do this? When are you going to work?” Remember, one of these days your praying will turn to singing. Your sinking will turn to standing. Your fear will turn to security as he lifts you up and establishes your feet on a rock. Just wait on the Lord. He’s patient with you. Why not be patient with him and let him work in his time and in his way?

POINT TO PONDER:

Waiting for the Lord’s help sometimes forces you to your limits. But take comfort in knowing that while you wait on him, God is working out his purposes in your life (Romans 8:28; Genesis 50:20; Isaiah 38:17; Jeremiah 29:11). Are you in a difficult situation, waiting for God to do something? Leave your burden with the Lord and trust him to act (Psalm 55:22; 1 Peter 5:7). He never disappoints you when you wait on him.

WHO AM I?

I am Tres Sansom, and I am so grateful for God's patience with me. He has been slowly stretching my ability to wait for him… but it's been a loooong, slooowww process.