daily java

Daily Java: 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. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.  (Psalm 40:1-3)

You go along for a while and nothing is good. Then something happens. It is really not much, just a small thing. But it is a positive thing.

And when it does, your whole perspective is changed. What was bad is now good, what was sad is now happy.

It is kind of weird, really, that something can change so rapidly. But it can.

We wait for the Lord. That is hard. We know that he has his own time table and will do things when he pleases. He is after all, God.

And a god who is on call to our whims is not really a god. He is a sham.

It is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. That is Philippians 2:13 and is absolutely true. He does things when he is ready. And you wait for him.

Then, when he does work in you, when he moves to change something, when he lifts you out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire, things are great. Suddenly your feet are on a rock, a firm place. You don’t feel like everything is going to hell in a handbasket.

There is joy in your demeanor, happiness in your heart, a new song in your mouth. You suddenly feel like praising. And people see that difference.

What caused it, they ask. You say, oh, nothing in particular. I just feel as though God has moved in my life.

The psalmist is speaking somewhat metaphorically, of course, when he says that they will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord. Sometimes they just think you are weird.

But you know, and you tell them about it, if they will listen.

And you sing the new song.