Are you sinking?
I waited patiently for the Lord;
he turned to me and heard my cry.
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.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
[Psalm 40:1-3a]
David begins this Psalm by describing God’s help like being rescued from a slimy pit. It is a picture of David being utterly helpless, sinking slowly into slimy mud.
Later in the Psalm, David makes a further urgent plea to God to save him, “Be pleased to save me, LORD; come quickly, LORD to help me.” v13. He is overwhelmed by further troubles which he says, are “too many to count”. Some of them are as a result of his own sin.
After pleading for God’s mercy, David finally prays this prayer v17:
But as for me, I am poor and needy;
may the Lord think of me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
you are my God, do not delay.
God is still lifting people out of their “slimy pits” when they recognize how helpless they are and decide to cry out to Him. If you identify with David’s circumstances – with problems too many to count – why not cry out to God as David did?
Prayer: Almighty God, with all the issues I am facing, I feel as though I am sinking in a slimy pit, like David imagined he was. Please hear my cry for help and deliver me. I want to be on firm ground and be able to praise you.
AMEN