Shout What God has Done

Psalm 40:1-3 - For the choir director: A psalm of David. 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 astounded. They will put their trust in the LORD.

 

David…so overwhelmed by the love of God….so thankful that he had heard him…lifted him…set his wobbly feet on solid ground and helped him walk again….that he had to shout it to the world.  He penned this amazing Psalm of thankfulness to make sure that his praise was shared with anyone he could get to listen. 

 

What is really amazing is that these words are the exact story of every other person who has listened to God’s call and ask him to be Lord of their life. If we turn our troubles over to God…and wait on his timing…he will listen and lift us out of whatever pit we let ourselves fall into. He will set our wobbly …unsure…even damaged feet on solid ground and hold our hand until we get our footing again.

 

If we don’t give up during this process…cause it sometimes takes a while…he will completely exchange the pain with a new purpose…and place a need in our heart to shout to the world what he did for us. He turns our pain…our hard learned lesson…into a message of hope to others. He places a joy in our heart that satan cannot steal.  His love and sacrifice become our strength for the new days ahead…a new purpose for life that is more about others than our self.

 

I admit that some days I think I have moved past my own pain…then I realize that there is just a bit more work God needs to do on my heart. My healing is far more encompassing than the hurts I have suffered from others….or the tragedies that God has allowed in my life.  He has to remind me that Life is not about me. God has to remind me daily that the selfishness I managed to let creep into my heart needs to be totally erased….replaced with a servant attitude… so he can begin to use me to share his great message of hope to others.

 

Father…thank you for David’s great words that share my own heart. I could praise you forever and one more day and never be able to praise you for everything you did to save me. When I was broken and weak…you placed me on solid ground and held my hand.  When I was selfish and cared only about myself…you placed people in my life that helped me learn what is truly important in life.  Help me to turn the lessons you have taught me into messages of hope for others that are still trapped in their self.  Show me how to keep this wonderful peace and joy permanently in my heart…so that it will overflow to others around me every day.  Amen.