In my bible study this year, we’ve been walking through Acts, but we also have an accompanying Psalm each week. Chatting with my group’s leader the other day, we discussed that while the study of Acts has been so good, the dives into the Psalms have seemed to connect the most with our group members’ hearts during this season.
Our Psalm this week was Psalm 40. The mere seventeen verses are rich with reminders of God’s goodness. The Psalm starts out reminding us of the importance of waiting patiently on the Lord—and in his time, he will answer. I love that in verse 1, David stated he waited on the Lord and then immediately declared not only that God heard him, but that he inclined to David and heard him. “Inclined” paints an image of God leaning toward his servant because he wants to connect with and hear from David.
But verse 2 is my favorite verse in Psalm 40 because the image of God plucking us from a pit and setting our feet on rock—on a firm foundation—is such a tangible idea of what God does for us when we invite him in. The picture of being stuck in a miry bog reminds me of a time my family went hiking, and the path we traveled turned quite muddy. The miry muck caked our boots, and each step became more difficult than the last. Our feet began to slip and stick, every precarious step punctuated by a squelching suck that soon had us wondering if we’d ever make it to our destination—or back, for that matter.
In Psalm 40:2, not only does God draw us from a miry bog of destruction, but he sets our feet upon a rock, making our steps secure. I will tell you, while we were hiking that muddy trail, our steps were not secure. The stark contrast is a poignant visual of what crying out to the Lord and waiting on him can do, setting us on something firm and trustworthy instead of floundering in the muck of our missteps.
After deliverance, David has a new song of praise for the God in whom he put his trust. This lovely little Psalm goes on to remind us of the blessings that come from trusting a God who thinks about his people. David shares his testimony of God’s faithfulness to him when he’s cried out to the Lord. The Psalm comes full circle as, in the final verses, David once again cries out to God. I love this reminder that trusting God is not a “one-and-done”—he wants us to continually rely on him and put our trust in him alone.
What are your favorite Psalms or verses in the Psalms? What word pictures has the bible given you that connect with your heart?