Out of the Pit

We've all experienced times when we needed a rescue. It could have been a flat tire, or perhaps your paycheck didn't make it to the end of the pay period, or it could have been even more serious.

We tend to look at the bible and think, "Wow, I can't live up to the men and women in that book. I'm just ordinary me, with ordinary problems."

Think again. The bible is full of the accounts of people who found themselves in messes - we'll call them pits - and needed help getting out. They needed rescue.

We find one of these accounts in Psalm 40. King David was no ordinary person - he was a mighty warrior, a man after God's own heart, the shepherd boy who killed a very large enemy, who eventually became the most well-known king of Israel. Yet, even King David found himself in pits in need of rescue.

This is what he says in Psalm 40:1-3, "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 the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. 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."

Not only did the Lord pull David from the pit, but he put his foot on solid ground and gave him a new song!

This is a beautiful picture of how God redeems us and restores us. The apostle Paul put it this way in 2 Corinthians 5:17, "This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!"

A new life waits for us when we turn to God and trust in him to rescue us from the pit.

Many scholars believe that Psalm 40 is also a look ahead to Jesus, the source of our spiritual rescue. Read the first three verses of this passage again, while looking for Jesus.

"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 the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. 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." (Psalm 40:1-3)

Do you see the grave after Jesus' crucifixion? That's the ultimate pit we all face. Jesus did not remain in his pit. God lifted Jesus from the grave with the resurrection. The new song is victory over sin and death.

This is the new song we have in Christ!

The pits of this world can be deep. But the mercy and grace of Jesus is deeper. Jesus has not given up on you. Don't you give up on him!

Peace and grace for the day ...