"It May Seem Muddy But Hang In There!"

“It May Seem Muddy But Hang in There”

Psalm 40:1-3

PS 40:1 I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. 2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. 3 He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.

INTRODUCTION

• Sometimes people, like David, who are after God’s own heart, will find themselves in some pretty slimy pits

Depression Hurt Sickness

Anger Financial Trouble Worry/Anxiety

• Look what David did. He waited patiently for the Lord and he cried out to Him

• Some of us are confusing a holy delay for a “non-answer” but that is just not the case

• Let me show you what happens when we cry out to the Lord and wait patiently for Him to act in the midst of our slimy pits:

I. He will RESPOND {vs 1}

“he turned to me and heard my cry…”

• Please realize that when you cry out to the Lord, you have His full attention

PS 91:15 He will call upon me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him.

ISA 49:8 This is what the LORD says: "In the time of my favor I will answer you, and in the day of salvation I will help you…

ISA 65:24 Before they call I will answer; while they are still speaking I will hear.

JER 33:2 "This is what the LORD says, he who made the earth, the LORD who formed it and established it--the LORD is his name: 3 `Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.’

• There is nothing you have done that would keep God from listening to you today!

II. He will RESCUE {vs 2}

“He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire…”

• God wants to lift you out of the slimy pit that you are in today

• Yes, I know we all face trials of different kinds; but, I believe God is in the business of wanting to bless us and take care of us

MT 7:9 "Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

PS 37:25 I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.

• The Lord has no intention of making His people dwell forever in slimy pits.

III. He will RESTORE {vs 2}

“…he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.”

• You see, some people stop at the rescue part of their relationship with God…but there is a lot more than that

• God not only wants to deliver you from your problems, but he also wants to restore you to a place where you can stand firmly for Him

• When God steps in and rescues us, He wants to put us in a place where we are stronger than we were before

IV. He will be REVERED {vs 3}

“He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.”

• The normal reaction to being rescued by the Lord should be giving Him our praise and our worship

ILLUSTRATION...Not One of Them Ever Thanked Me

Bishop Gerland Kennedy of California tells the true story of a shipwreck off the coast of Evanston, Ill. Many years ago. The students of Northwestern University came to the rescue. One student, Edward Spenser, personally saved the lives of 17 persons that day. Years later a reporter was writing a follow up story on the event, and went to interview the now elderly Spenser. When asked what was the one thing that stood out about the incident in his mind; Spenser replied: “I remember that of the seventeen people I saved that day, not one of them ever thanked me.”

• When we praise Him at this point, we are saying, “God, you did this…not me”

• This way, when we find ourselves in other miry pits, we know Whom to turn to…not our own resources; but, his resources!

V. He will be REVEALED {vs 3}

“Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.”