Tag: Waiting on God - Psalms 39-41

Psalms 40:1-2 (ESV Strong's)

I waited patiently for the Lord;

he inclined to me and heard my cry.

He drew me up from the pit of destruction,

out of the miry bog,

and set my feet upon a rock,

making my steps secure.

Tag: Waiting On God 

Waiting is not a favorite pastime of anyone.   We don’t seem to be built to “wait.”    Waiting in line seems to be part of everyday life; we adapt; but we grumble.   Waiting in traffic certainly is a norm for many, if not most.  Yet, we grumble.  We cut in and cut out and try to maneuver our way to the front.   Waiting for someone is often frustrating.    You set an meeting date and time and they arrive when they want. You can feel disrespected waiting for that person.  Waiting in the doctor or dentist office seems to be a normative.   Their time is always more important than yours.  Pulse the doctor’s office has two waits: The one in the outer office and then the one in the inner office.  They double your wait and think nothing of it.   Waiting for a package can be especially dragging.  The major shipping companies are often doing their best to limit your wait; except when you really “need” the package.  The worst kind of watching and waiting is when you have a loved one away and you want that person to return and you have to wait.  Or, they are sick and you want them to be healed and you have to wait.  Or, you have a suffering of your own and you have to wait for healing and to be rescued.   

All the above is to say this is what was happening in David’s life when he wrote this Psalm.  We are not told the exact nature of his waiting, but we are given a hint in verse twelve:

Psalms 40:12 (ESV Strong's)

For evils have encompassed me

beyond number;

my iniquities have overtaken me,

and I cannot see;

they are more than the hairs of my head;

my heart fails me.

Apparently some evil people or evil happening has surrounded him and his own inward sin has disabled him, or hindered him.   He is crying for delivers from without and from within.   He has had to wait and then IT HAPPENED.  GOD DELIVERED HIM.  It is a waiting game that we hate to play, but, like David, God ALWAYS comes through.   We can rejoice because God WILL deliver us from the “miry bog” of life.     Literally the “pit of destruction” and “miry bog” is probably an actual cistern David has been tossed into, or jumped into to avoid his enemies.  Figuratively it is depression, despair and discontent.   Our bodies may not be in a pit, but our minds are captive in depressed thoughts.  God is there to deliver us as we cry out to Him.  He seems to never rescue us in our timing; but always in His time.  Like the psalmist writes:

He drew me up ... and set my feet upon a rock and made my steps secure.   Wait on God and something great will happen.