Psalm 40 is a Psalm of David and in verse 2 in this Psalm he speaks of the horrible pit he was in. God’s promise was that he would be on the throne of Israel but David found himself in a horrible pit! In Psalm 40 : 1 – 4 David said,

¹I waited patiently for the LORD;  And He inclined to me,  And heard my cry.
² He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,
Out of the miry clay,
And set my feet upon a rock,
And established my steps.
³ He has put a new song in my mouth—
Praise to our God;
Many will see it and fear,
And will trust in the LORD.
⁴ Blessed is that man who makes the LORD his trust,
And does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.

David was anointed by Prophet Samuel as future king of Israel when He was very young. Having been anointed by the only prophet Israel knew at the time, David would have been excited and very happy. He would have looked forward to the day when Israel would accept him as king. Since God spoke through the mouth of Prophet Samuel, David would have expected it to be soon and without much trouble… but it was not to be. Rather than taking up the kingship of Israel, for a long time He was running for his life, from Saul. He was anointed, a word had been spoken over his life by the prophet, but things only got worse. His life seemed to be much better before Samuel met him and God spoke over his life; from being a quiet shepherd of his father’s sheep, now he was being hunted down by the king of Israel. He was running for his life!

Have you ever been in a situation like that? You have received a promise from God, either through a prophet or from God’s word… you believed the promise and thought that things very soon would change for you. You prayed and expected God to move and fulfill His promise, but strangely, instead of being lifted up you found yourself in a horrible pit! Well, you are not alone. Even David the greatest king of Israel found himself in the same place! But at the appropriate time David says,’ He brought me up out of a horrible pit’. God brought him up and out of the pit. No matter how deep the pit you are in today, God is mighty and loving enough to bring you up out of it.

David here also speaks of the ‘miry clay’ that he was in. Rather than being firmly established as the king, he seemed to be sinking in miry clay, at one time. Miry clay is something in which you do not have a foothold; watery mud in which you have no firm place to stand on and hence you sink; nothing strong and firm beneath your feet to stop you from sinking and nothing above to hold on to, to save yourself. You may have been in this kind of a situation many a time in your life, or may be you are in it right now. It might seem like you are sinking in your problems, in your debts, in your sickness, or may be even in your own sin! But, you need not lose hope or patience. David says that God not only brought him out of the horrible pit, but He also brought him up out of the miry clay. It is quite possible for a human being to help you and bring you out of a pit, but to save you from miry clay it is almost an impossible task; only God Almighty can help. The situation you are in today might seem so hopeless, that you know that mere men cannot help you or save you; but praise God you have Jesus Christ as your God. David said in Psalm 144:15,

Happy are the people whose God is the Lord’

Happy are you because Jesus Christ is your God and Lord!

Hebrews 7:25 says:

‘ He (Jesus) is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them’

Jesus is able to save you not just a little bit, but if you put your faith in Him, He is able to save you to the UTTERMOST! Halleluiah! No matter how badly you are sinking in you trouble, He is able to save you!. It might seem like you have no ground beneath and nothing above to hold on to, to save yourself, but He is able to save you!. He is able to save you from your problems. He is able to save you from your sicknesses. He is able to save you from your worries and anxieties. He is able to save you from your debts. He is able to save you from your sin. He is God Almighty; not only is He just able to save you but HE WILL SAVE YOU.

David says in verse 1,

‘I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry.’

David had to wait patiently to see God’s salvation in his life. He did not say, ‘ I prayed and God answered me immediately’, but, ‘ I waited… patiently…and then… He heard me’. It is important to wait upon God. And, it is important to wait patiently. David waited for many years before He actually became king. For a long time, he was hiding in caves and strongholds in order to save his life, in spite of the promise of God. All prayers are not answered immediately. There are times when God wants us to wait patiently even though our faith may be strong and we have prayed very powerfully and confessed it with our mouth. The bible says that Abraham did not waver in faith, but through faith and patience, he inherited the promise of God. Faith and patience go hand in hand. You will inherit the promises of God for your life not only through prayer and the confession of your mouth, but also through faith and patience.

Through the years when David felt that he was in a horrible pit and in the miry clay, he probably held on to the promise God gave him through the mouth of the prophet Samuel. Since God had spoken, he knew that no matter what came in between; the promise eventually would be fulfilled! He waited patiently. Victories are won not only through prayer but many times it is by just waiting patiently for God to move in His time. Prayer has to cause us to trust in Him more and cause us to be patient for God to move. If there is any word that God has spoken to you, through His word, His voice, through a prophet, while you were listening to a teaching or in any other way… hold on to it.

If you look back at your life you will find specific words that God has spoken, words that have given direction to your life, words that have strengthened you, words that have caused you to take God more seriously, He may have given you promises concerning your future; whatever the word… hold on to it. Whatever He has spoken into your spirit and your heart, hold on to it and do not let it go. God spoke to David much before the bad times came because God knew the he would need it. God speaks to us before the bad times come because He knows that we need it. Store in your heart what God speaks to you, cherish it and hold on to it.  It is good to write down in a book what God speaks to you. Specially, the prophecies and words of encouragement He speaks into your spirit. You will need it in the days to come! Do not despise the prophesies you get; God speaks you to let you know what He has kept for you in the future and also so that you can find encouragement when you need it. Immediately after He had touched my life, as I just opened the bible, God spoke to me from Romans 14:7,8,

‘ For none of us lives to himself, and none of us dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.

Since then it has been the foundational verse for my life. It has become the focus of my life and the purpose of my life. Anytime I lose focus or am discouraged or confused, I can just come back to what God spoke to me years back in this verse and get focused back on Him. David held on to what God had spoken to Him. In spite of contrary situations and circumstances that surrounded him, in spite of things seeming so hopeless, He held on to God, waited patiently, and eventually saw God pulling him out of the horrible pit and the miry clay.

And then he said in verse 2, 3,

‘ And set my feet upon a rock,   And estabished my steps.

He has put a new song in my mouth —  Praise to our God;

Many will see it and fear,  And will trust in the LORD’.

When you wait patiently for Him, He will save you to the uttermost and bring you up and place your feet upon a rock. He will replace the unstable ground from under you feet with rock. You will no longer be shaky and unsure and sinking, but He will establish your steps. You might have to wait a few years before you see the promise come to pass, like David and Abraham, but it will come to pass. His promises are sure. God is not a man that He should lie. He is faithful and true. And once He brings it to pass you will have a new song in your mouth. There will no longer be complaining or grumbling or sadness but a new song in your mouth. Halleluiah! And people around will see how God has lifted you up, and established you upon the rock and they will fear and trust in your God, Jesus Christ!