The Lord heard my cry

Psa 40:1 I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
Psa 40:2 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.


The horrible pit.
The miry clay.


Pit-
bôr
bore
From H952 (in the sense of H877); a pit hole (especially one used as a cistern or prison): - cistern, dungeon, fountain, pit, well.


Clay-
ṭı̂yṭ
teet
From an unused root meaning apparently to be sticky (rather perhaps a denominative from H2894, through the idea of dirt to be swept away); mud or clay; figuratively calamity: - clay, dirt, mire.


Have you ever been in a horrible pit? What about being stuck in miry clay? There are probably very few people who could claim to have been stuck in a horrible pit, and truly well stuck, unable to free themselves from miry clay. Yet we know exactly what David is talking about here, don't we? Most of us have had experience being stuck in a deep pit of despair, of hopelessness, of pain, anguish- emotional, mental agonies that have left us feeling as if we were trapped in our existence with no possible way to get ourselves out. That thick miry clay of life pouring down over us so that we are covered up to our necks in the dark things of life, unable to escape.


It's a fact that depression has overtaken so many people that they now exist by slipping pills into their mouths - hoping the contents of those little pills will alter something within their brains- cutting off that sense of despair- so they can no longer feel the heavy pain of worthlessness. And it's a fact that our brain chemistry has been tampered with and for a lot of people it no longer functions in the way it was intended- through no fault of their own. Aside from taking recreational drugs that can affect the brain, people can't mess with their brain chemistry. Some might yell that it is just an excuse for not being able to have faith, but that's not true any more than a person with type 1 diabetes, or a thin, otherwise healthy person with high blood pressure, or someone with congenital diseases, or deformities - could alter their problems. Those who claim that faith should be able to cure anyone from anything- haven't looked upon the tiny, dead body of a child who had pneumonia whose parents prayed over that child but refused to get the baby medical attention. They haven't watched the mental deterioration of a new mother caught in severe post partum depression - told to snap out of it, but instead ends up hurting their child and themselves- all because they refused to seek medical help. I'm ALL for natural cures, for faith healing- but sometimes the hope God offers is in the form of medical technology. I'm not encouraging people to seek pills to help them crawl out of the pit, or free themselves from the miry clay- I know this verse here we're studying reveals that it was GOD who helped David escape from his pit, from the miry clay that trapped him. And people will be quick to point out that they didn't have pills back in David's day so it was God, it was faith alone that helped David. I can't dispute that, I'm not even going to try. What I think I'm trying to say is God deals with us ALL in a personal, unique manner and I cannot pound the podium, stomp my foot on the soapbox and yell that there is only one cure. I CAN pound the podium and stomp my foot, I CAN shout and scream that God is the only answer. I can do that and not be contradictory because as I mentioned before- medical technology isn't all of the devil just because many people have abused it. A lot of great good has come from medical technology. Without it my mother would not have survived the miscarriage she had, and my little sister would never have been born later on, and I would have grown up without my mother. Without technology my daughter and I would have died together- her unborn. So many of us can recite the same sort of true stories- we are able to look back at the last hundred years and to our ancestors and know that without medical intervention multitudes would not exist. Of course the naysayers will be quick to point out that for thousands of years mankind survived without modern medical inventions - those who died were not meant to live- survival of the fittest and all. They're right, for thousands of years it was that way, but that doesn't make the medical advancements all of Satan, not by a long, long shot.


So, back to the pit and miry clay- if a person relies completely upon medicine to keep them out of the emotional turmoil they experience, if a person takes their pills and life doesn't seem so worthless, yet they ignore God- they are still lost eternally. God is the answer for those who know that this world isn't the way it was meant to be, life truly is meaningless without God, without the hope of the world God intended.


Psa 40:1 I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
Psa 40:2 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.


Waiting patiently while in the horrible pit, while stuck in the miry clay. We don't like to wait patiently when we are trapped, when we are stuck. Waiting patiently doesn't mean not crying out- some might assume that if we cry out we aren't being patient and in some instances that'd be true. If we were crying out, rushing things, and if we are crying out cursing and denying God, that's not patience at all. If we turn our back on God - that's not patience. Patience is holding fast knowing God is, knowing that God was, and that God will be forever. People might cry out their hate for God, but in their hearts the truth is strong- God was, God is, God will be.


While called on to endure agonies untold - that truth exists within their hearts and must live within their hearts and that is patience- the truth, that deep down truth that exists in those who truly love God. David waited patiently even while crying out to the LORD. The LORD brought David up out of the pit, and out of the miry clay and set Him on a rock and established His way. Does that mean David was never again struck with despair, never ever faced another calamity? No. It does mean that God was the truth to David, God was the hope to David, God was the all in all to David, God was in David's heart. David wasn't perfect by far, and neither are we.


Psa 40:1 I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
Psa 40:2 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.
Psa 40:3 And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.
Psa 40:4 Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust, and respecteth not the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.
Psa 40:5 Many, O LORD my God, are thy wonderful works which thou hast done, and thy thoughts which are to us-ward: they cannot be reckoned up in order unto thee: if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.


Blessed is the man that makes the LORD his trust.
Blessed is the man that respects not the proud.
Blessed is the man that doesn't respect those that turn to lies.


God's thoughts are towards us.
Many are the LORD's wonderful works!
We cannot count the number of times God has worked for us.


When we think God has abandoned us, He hasn't, He never will. We might be inside a fiery furnace of trial, we might be caught in the thickest miry clay ever, we might be down in a pit so deep we haven't seen light in days, weeks, months, years… but God has not abandoned us. Any chastising we are call to endure is meant for our EVENTUAL good. While being chastised we don't always understand it's for our good, instead we feel as if we're being punished senselessly and if only the one punishing us would truly understand us then we wouldn't be chastised that way. A child might not always understand a parents chastising even if the parent tries to explain it over and over. The parent however understands why the chastising was necessary and someday the child will look back and understand too.


God's love is pure in all ways. We have to determine within our hearts to trust God no matter what. Easy to say, yes, and harder to do, it can be especially hard when Satan will try with every wily way he has to get us not to trust God.


By the grace of God we will cry out to Him and wait patiently for Him even while we are trapped in many deep pits, and stuck in the thick miry clay of life and all its agonizing pain!


By His love! By His mercy! All in Christ's righteousness! All through His forgiveness!


Amen.