Exceptional Deliverance

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:
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:
"Well, I guess there’s nothing left to do but pray.” 

Have you ever heard this? Have you ever thought this or said this yourself? 

Usually, we hear these words when we or those we love are in a dire circumstance and have run out of options. It’s often said in a hospital after all medical or surgical means of healing have been tried—and come up short. It’s said when someone is lost in the wilderness or facing financial catastrophe. 

“There’s nothing left to do but pray.” We say this when there’s no plan B, when we’ve hit a wall in life, or when we’re stuck and we don’t know what to do. 

I recently read that the Chinese word for "crisis" combines two characters for two words: danger and opportunity. When we run out of human solutions, we feel vulnerable, afraid, and hopeless. We’re in danger. At that point, God can do some of the best work imaginable, for it offers opportunity. 

Psalm 40 celebrates God’s rescue when all seems lost: “slimy pit,” “mud and mire”—these words signal grave illness, death, annihilation. There’s no plan B; in other words, “There’s nothing left to do but pray.” Prayer, Psalm 40 shows us, is not a last-ditch effort or a wistful, wishful piety. Prayer is calling on God’s ultimate power to deliver. “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.” 

In our extreme need, God can work exceptional deliverance. The psalmist thanks God in the assembly of corporate worship, urging others to share in God’s praise, to trust in God’s faithfulness, to depend on God’s steadfast love. These divine certainties form a foundation that can support us in times of grave illness, a tragic loss, a natural catastrophe. Let us look to the Lord today. Let us cry out for his deliverance.


PRAYER:
Lord, teach us to call on you not only when we’re out of options but whenever we face need. Help us to depend upon your steadfast love and faithfulness each day.


WHO AM I?
I am Tres Sansom, and this is one of my favorite psalms. I cannot read it without thinking of the many ways God touched my life in the years following my injury. He took a very dark, broken situation and turned it into something beautiful. I let my life stand as a testimony to God's redemptive grace. As Romans 8:28 declares—" And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."