"I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.
And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.
Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies."
Psalms 40:1-4
There are a lot of great bits in here. The first one that I notice is the waiting patiently part. Clearly this does not say "I demanded the Lord satisfy my needs, and he did." ... We are like tantruming children that way sometimes, screaming for what we want, and often unable to articulate our needs even to ourselves. We just feel something uncomfortable, and want someone else to solve it for us, and fast. We want God to be like the genie of the lamp... to instantly give us whatever we ask. And although God is powerful enough to play the role, he isn't a slave to a lamp, and he is going to do what is best for us, which he knows better than we do. His purpose is to teach us and help us grow and become better, and that is why we always have to do our part, even if it is just having patience.
Patience seems a small price to pay for being delivered from the horrible pit, which I think we all encounter, at least figuratively, in our lives. Sometimes the pits are ones we didn't expect to be in the path. Others, we dig ourselves. Either way, God is willing to rescue us if we are willing to change.
I like the idea of a new song. I think of movies and how the main characters usually have their own theme music, usually helping the audience know whether this is the hero or the villain. With God, even if we have been the villain for most of the plot, we can still change. We can get a new song. One that marks us as a hero, and also reminds everyone where salvation comes from.
I like the last verse about trusting God, because it reminds us that trusting God is a choice that necessitates the rejection of some other choices. As we learn in Matthew 6:24 and elsewhere "No man can serve two masters." When we choose God we have to let go of serving the slimy. Even when the pride looks like sophistication or becoming modern, and even when everyone around us buys into the lies, we have to trust God above everything else. Today, let's work on patience and trust for the Lord.
He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.
And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.
Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies."
Psalms 40:1-4
There are a lot of great bits in here. The first one that I notice is the waiting patiently part. Clearly this does not say "I demanded the Lord satisfy my needs, and he did." ... We are like tantruming children that way sometimes, screaming for what we want, and often unable to articulate our needs even to ourselves. We just feel something uncomfortable, and want someone else to solve it for us, and fast. We want God to be like the genie of the lamp... to instantly give us whatever we ask. And although God is powerful enough to play the role, he isn't a slave to a lamp, and he is going to do what is best for us, which he knows better than we do. His purpose is to teach us and help us grow and become better, and that is why we always have to do our part, even if it is just having patience.
Patience seems a small price to pay for being delivered from the horrible pit, which I think we all encounter, at least figuratively, in our lives. Sometimes the pits are ones we didn't expect to be in the path. Others, we dig ourselves. Either way, God is willing to rescue us if we are willing to change.
I like the idea of a new song. I think of movies and how the main characters usually have their own theme music, usually helping the audience know whether this is the hero or the villain. With God, even if we have been the villain for most of the plot, we can still change. We can get a new song. One that marks us as a hero, and also reminds everyone where salvation comes from.
I like the last verse about trusting God, because it reminds us that trusting God is a choice that necessitates the rejection of some other choices. As we learn in Matthew 6:24 and elsewhere "No man can serve two masters." When we choose God we have to let go of serving the slimy. Even when the pride looks like sophistication or becoming modern, and even when everyone around us buys into the lies, we have to trust God above everything else. Today, let's work on patience and trust for the Lord.
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