Psalms 40:1-3 (NLT) “I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked. He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the Lord.“
The words, “I waited patiently for the Lord to help”, indicates that there was a period where the Lord tarried…a period the Lord didn’t help. In the midst of the “waiting” period David was in, it required him to have patience. How many of us can say, “I waited patiently?” Perhaps, the Lord tarried and when David’s waiting became patient, he turned and heard his cry? Verse 2 speaks of the Lord lifting David from the pit of despair. I wonder how David found himself in that pit? Did he fall into the pit or did he dig himself into it?
If you are in a pit as you read this, how did you come to be in that pit? I’ve asked myself that question many times.
Falling suggests that the pit was set there as a trap. Has the enemy set a trap of despair for you to fall into? Have you ever found yourself walking along, minding your own business and suddenly tripping into a large hole? When you hit the bottom you are stunned and you begin to try to understand what happened; how you could possibly miss the huge gaping hole you just fell into! The enemy is seeking to set traps along our path. Traps are designed to allow entry but not exit. The enemy’s traps are wide open for us to fall into, but when we hit the bottom there is seemingly no way out.
This pit that the scripture above describes David was in was not just any type of pit, it was a pit of despair! The definition of despair is the complete loss or absence of hope. Beware of the enemy’s trap of despair! He seeks to steal our hope and leave us destitute and alone in a hole with no way of escape.
Another possible scenario of finding ourselves in a pit is one of our own making. Perhaps David in his agony, began to slowly dig into the place of despair. We have all been there when situation after situation comes at us relentlessly. We dig into ourselves, mulling over the pain, the lies, the cruelty of the world. We find ourselves in this passage alongside David. With each thrust of the shovel we dig deeper and deeper into our agony and misery, until we lift our head to see we are covered in the grime of mud and mire and are stuck in this man-made pit of despair.
Sitting now, in the filth with no escape…our only choice is to just wait…but not passively… we will WAIT PATIENTLY FOR THE LORD.
“And the Lord heard his cry…” LORD, RESCUE ME FROM MY DESPAIR…MY HOPELESSNESS…MY DISCOURAGEMENT…MY ANGUISH…MY UNHAPPINESS…MY DEPRESSION…MY PESSIMISM!
The Lord’s desire for us is always a grand rescue! He sets us on solid ground with our eyes squinting from the sun (son). We’ve been stuck in the deep mud so long that our knees wobble and we struggle for a bit to get our footing. One foot in front of the other we begin to walk, as he steadies us. He is not a God who just rescues us, he also steadies us. He keeps us from falling, unfaltering. Like a ship in the midst of a rolling sea, he keeps us steady and moving forward. We begin to gain momentum now, getting our stride back. “Don’t look back” he whispers knowing the tendency of our hearts to turn around and look back even as Lot’s wife did in Genesis 19. The more we walk ahead the stronger we become, clearer in our direction as we feel the strong, solid ground beneath our feet.
If you’ve found yourself today in this passage of scripture, I encourage you to come to a place of fresh surrender. Surrender to the process of patiently waiting. Whether you fell into a trap or slowly began digging around yourself and now see no way out…surrender. Put down your shovel and cry out. Nowhere does it say to stop your crying out!Where does your cry need a dose of patience? Patience requires trust. Trusting that our savior will come. Cry out to him and trust that he will come!
In the end, He will give us a new song! A song of praise that echoes his faithfulness! A praise that gets others’ attention and testifies! A song that delivers the hopeless soul! Put your trust in God!