“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. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord. Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie! You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told.” Psalm 40:1-5 ESV
In this Psalm, David starts by praising God for rescuing him “from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog”. This actually paints a beautiful picture of our salvation in and through Jesus Christ. Our sin imprisons us in a dark “pit of destruction”, and each step we take is made on a slippery slope of mud. There is no way out; we cannot save ourselves.
Jesus doesn’t throw us a rope so that we have to climb our way up into freedom. He lifts us up Himself into His Daylight (through His bloodshed on the cross) and places our feet on rock solid ground (in contrast to mud) and makes our steps secure (in contrast to slippery steps in the dark).
In a world of corruption, lies, betrayal, deathly diseases and conspiracy theories, we might feel that we are in the dark on a slippery and dangerous path, not knowing where to turn. We might forget the true Anchor of our souls. We might forget the joy of our salvation. If we trust in ourselves, our circumstances, even in other people, we will definitely be disappointed. If we try to control our circumstances and the people involved in it, we will definitely be disappointed.
The only place where we will find assurance and steadfastness, is in the person of Jesus Christ. We need to surrender to His authority and sovereignty over our lives. This requires us to be humble, and yet it is incredibly comforting to usas well. The well-known theologian, C.S. Lewis defined pride as “spiritual cancer” – “it eats up the very possibility of love, or contentment, or even common sense.” As the psalmist says: “Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie!”
Nowadays we are bombarded by information through the media – some of it true; some of it false. How can we tell the difference? We are called to test everything we read or hear against the rock solid foundation of God’s Word (see Titus 3:9). And, in order to do that, we need to be studying God’s Word continuously. The more we are anchored in the truth of God’s Word, the less we will be affected by the transitory things of this world.
Just a few pages into the Bible, and you will be able to proclaim together with the psalmist: “You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told.”