CONFIDENT and PATIENT

 JANUARY 27, 2023

Psalm 40

1 I waited patiently for the Lord;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
2 He drew me up from the desolate pit,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear
and put their trust in the Lord.

4 Happy are those who make
the Lord their trust,
who do not turn to the proud,
to those who go astray after false gods.
5 You have multiplied, O Lord my God,
your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;
none can compare with you.
Were I to proclaim and tell of them,
they would be more than can be counted.

6 Sacrifice and offering you do not desire,
but you have given me an open ear.
Burnt offering and sin offering
you have not required.
7 Then I said, “Here I am;
in the scroll of the book it is written of me.
8 I delight to do your will, O my God;
your law is within my heart.”

9 I have told the glad news of deliverance
in the great congregation;
see, I have not restrained my lips,
as you know, O Lord.
10 I have not hidden your saving help within my heart;
I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness
from the great congregation.

11 Do not, O Lord, withhold
your mercy from me;
let your steadfast love and your faithfulness
keep me safe forever.
12 For evils have encompassed me
without number;
my iniquities have overtaken me
until I cannot see;
they are more than the hairs of my head,
and my heart fails me.

13 Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me;
O Lord, make haste to help me.
14 Let all those be put to shame and confusion
who seek to snatch away my life;
let those be turned back and brought to dishonor
who desire my hurt.
15 Let those be appalled because of their shame
who say to me, “Aha, Aha!”

16 But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation
say continually, “Great is the Lord!”
17 As for me, I am poor and needy,
but the Lord takes thought for me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
do not delay, O my God.

Psalm 40:1

"I patiently waited, Lord, for you to hear my prayer."

 

We can rest with confidence and patience in our God. Amen?

Do you hear the boldness and confidence of the young King David here? During his early years, he faced many challenges and dangers as his rule as Israel’s King was being established.

When I think of King David, I think of a man of action, yet here in Psalm 40 we are reminded that David was also a man of patience. Even as he waited on the Lord for answers, he was able to look back, to see and remember the amazing things that the Lord had done. David recalls the way the Lord rescued him from that lonely muddy, miry pit and raised him up onto a firm foundation.

David also looked ahead with confidence and patience, for the promises of God to be revealed. Ready to be obedient to the Lord: ‘I am here to do what is written about me in the book, where it says, “I enjoy pleasing you. Your law is in my heart”’ (Psalm 40:7,8).

Let us allow the Lord to use David and his life, his confident and patient example of faith, to encourage us in our lives. We all need to pray with such confidence and patience in the Lord. But recall what we said above, David’s patient waiting for answer to prayer was sustained by his experience in looking back at the ways God had done amazing things, lifting him from hard places, muddy places to a firm foundation.

God has plans for your life and mine. He will journey with us, never leaving or forsaking us. We can pray and live with full confidence in the Lord. Lord, into your hands, I commit myself, my life, and all that I am. Remember, Malachi 3:6 “I the Lord do not change.”

Over the weekend, reflect on the amazing things God has done in your life, of how he lifted you from muddy places to a firm foundation. Give thanks for those times, and use them as faith builders for your present and future as you wait patiently for God’s purpose to unfold.

Lord of our days, Lord of yesterday,
Lord, our Lord, forever, your people we are.
Lord of our days, Lord of yesterday,
Lord, our Lord, forever, your people we are.

From many pasts you fashion one history,
a people of God created to hold
for all [humankind] the myst’ry of faith.
Lord of our days, your people we are.
1976 Neil Quintrell


LET US PRAY

“O God, our help in ages past our hope for years to come.” We place our confidence and trust in you knowing that you never change, you are the same yesterday, today and forever. We praise and thank you that “from everlasting you are God, to endless years the same.” Amen.

May the strength of God pilot you;
May the wisdom of God instruct you,
May the hand of God protect you,
May the word of God direct you.
Be always yours this day and for evermore.               

St. Patrick's Prayer