1: “I waited patiently for the LORD. He turned to me and heard my cry." - God delivers us from trouble - the wait may be difficult but we can rely on His faithfulness.
2: "He lifted me out of the pit of destruction, out of the sticky mud. He stood me on a rock and made my feet steady." - No matter what type of problem we face and no matter how hopeless we feel, God will reach into our lives, pick us up, place us on solid ground.
3: "He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many people will see this and worship Him. Then they will trust the LORD." - When we experience God's saving grace we can only respond by lifting songs of praise to His glory.
6: "You do not want sacrifices and offerings. But you have made a hole in my ear to show that my body and life are yours. You do not want burnt offerings and sacrifices to take away sins." - We cannot earn salvation - it is gift that only God can provide.
8: "My God, I want to do what you want. Your teachings are in my heart." - The Holy Spirit leads us onto His paths of righteousness.
11: "LORD, do not hold back your mercy from me; let your love and truth always protect me." - God's mercy is abundant and He is always available with His love to lift, guide, protect, and lead us to His glory.
Points to Contemplate:
Have you ever waited on the Lord?
Have you cried out for His mercy to heal your wounded heart? Has the darkness filled you with so much despair that you were unable to see the light of hope that God provides? Did you think your circumstances would never end and that God had abandoned you to hopelessness and despair? When this time passed, what were your thoughts about God? Had He hear your cry? Did you still feel that He had abandoned you or were you able to look back and see that He had been with you all along?
From which pit has God lifted you? Was it a pit of selfishness? Were you wallowing in a pool of self-pity or narcissism? Were you struggling with a lack of faith or simply indulging in a world of sin filled with hate, lust, envy, or pride? As you struggled did you feel that your life was floundering and there was nothing solid to rely on? When did you realize that you would not be able to pull yourself from this pit of destruction? When you finally turned to God were you surprised to find Him ready to offer you a hand? Could you immediately feel a sense of solid footing as He took you by the hand and led you to His light?
Have you tried offering God sacrifices and burnt offerings? Have you tired to make promises to God in exchange for His help? Have you felt that in order to lead a holy life you are being called to sacrifice the fun things in life? Even though in your mind you recognize that you can't earn God's love, are you still trying to do so? Are you focused on your good works and then become dejected when your actions don't measure up to the standard you think you should uphold? As you look to other Christians, do you judge their actions according to this same critical scale? Should you be as accepting and loving of their failures as God is?
Are God's teachings in your heart? How did they get there? Did they come from years of Bible study? Do His teachings come as a result of proper worship and prayer? Does regular church attendance or a Christian upbringing place His word into your heart? Or is this another gift from God as a result of your faith in Him? Even though many Christians say they have never experienced the Holy Spirit in their lives, can you see that this knowledge of God that you possess is the Holy Spirit revealing Himself to you? With this knowledge do you think you will be more capable of following wherever God leads you? Promise of the Gospel:
David wrote this song from a perspective that is familiar to all of us. The types of pits in which we find ourselves stuck are many. When we turn to God we find that He will lift us from each pit and place us on solid ground. Our hearts overflow with the magnitude of His love and our mouths fill with songs of praise. We want to please Him with our actions, doing what He would have us do. So we step out in ministry, filled with the knowledge of His love. Our bodies and our lives become His. We strive to become holy people worthy of His love. Whereas our efforts at holiness are never in vain and God is pleased with His faithful servants, we must take care to avoid attempts at earning salvation through our good works. God wants us deeply involved in ministry but it needs to be as a reflection of His love, not as a sacrifice or burnt offering. We are protected by His love and that is all we need.
