Pit of Destruction

"I waited patiently for the Lord;
And He inclined to me and heard my cry.
He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay,
And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm."
Psalm 40:1-2

Waiting is hard to do for us humans.  It does not come naturally.  It is a character trait that we must learn and practice and then choose over and over again.  I used to be very impatient about everything, but as I began practicing patience and trusting in God, I learned to wait.  ("They that wait upon the Lord will gain new strength... Isaiah40:31) Waiting isn't hard when you know that the Author of the thing that you are waiting upon loves you and wants to do good for you.  Waiting become joyful expectation.  You will find yourself saying, "I can't wait to see how God pulls this one off!"  rather than, "Man, I can't keep waiting, I need to know now!" When we wait patiently and allow circumstances to work out in God's timing, it is always good.

God hears our cries!  Sometimes we cry out and want an immediate answer to our inquiry and tears.  God has an eternal timetable which does not always coincide with ours!  We cry out, knowing that He heard and then we wait with great expectation to see God work.

Not only will God hear us, but He answers with the eternal answer - Jesus!  He is the Rock that God sets our feet upon.  He can pull us out of depression, hopelessness, self-destruction, self-incrimination, and hatefulness if we cry out to Him and ask.  For me His answer came through Jesus in the form of a Christian counselor that help me to understand the instruction of God's Word that I had hidden in my heart for many years.  Friends were there to support me and my husband walked along beside me.  When you know that "Jesus is the Answer", but it doesn't seem to be enough, keep asking.  Go deeper in with God and wait upon His work in your heart and mind.  Be renewed by the reading of God's Word.  Jesus is the only Rock that is eternally stable and safe and strong.

Hezekiah was a king of Israel that sought God.  Isaiah, the prophet, came to King Hezekiah and told him that God had said that the king would die.  Hezekiah mourned before the Lord and God answered by taking the sun backwards! (Isaiah 38:1-8)  When Hezekiah asked God for healing, he was given an additional 15 years.  Hezekiah praises God with these words: "It is You who has kept my soul from the pit of nothingness.  For You have cast all my sins behind Your back." (Isaiah 38:17b) Hezekiah trusted God's prophesy and believed God even before Jesus was born that God, in Jesus, would erase his sins and make him righteous.  Jesus was the answer even before He was born!  He is the Saviour and will save us from the miry clay of hopelessness.  Keep crying, keep waiting, and wait expectantly to see God work!

Hint of the Day: Teach your kids that being sad is not wrong.  We all have these emotions.  There are proper ways of behaving when we are sad, but even Jesus wept!  Of course, if sadness is a habit then you need to intervene and teach your child to choose praise and joy through Christ.  Jesus wept, but then He got up ad raised Lazarus from the dead!