READ:
Psalm 40:1
1 I waited patiently for the LORD; And he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
EXHORTATION:
What an inspiring testimony David bears here! He tells us how he handled his dilemma. He responded to his peculiar trouble by waiting patiently for the LORD.
He was in a very distressing situation. He described his situation in verse 2 as “an horrible pit of miry clay”. It was a picture of helplessness and despondence that David painted with those words. He was sunk in deep and dark depression. No one could deliver him, not even he himself.
But he knew that there is help with the LORD. So he cast himself and his situation completely upon the LORD as the only possible way out. He cried out to Him in prayer. It is all that he could do, and he did it with utmost earnestness and eagerness.
When David “waited patiently for the LORD”, he was not passively sitting down and muttering fatalistically, “Oh, the LORD has deserted me. There is no one to deliver me.” Instead, his patient waiting for the LORD consisted of crying to the LORD. Prayer is the channel that God has ordained for His afflicted people to receive His deliverance and help in times of distressing situations.
David had always been a man of action, especially in the midst of adversities. He was not one who feared adversity. In his youthful days, he had bravely acted to deliver the lambs from the mouth of a lion and of a bear (1 Samuel 17:34-36). Who does not know of David’s exploits, such as his victory over Goliath who had struck paralysing fear into the army of Israel? (1 Samuel 17:39-51). However, in this particular situation, he who had previously overcome many an adversity, found himself being buried under insurmountable problems.
Still, David believed that the LORD would deliver him. So he prayed unto the LORD as he waited patiently for His deliverance. He waited on the LORD patiently because He had confidence in the LORD. Great heroes of faith are men who, amidst their troubles, wait with unwavering faith and hope in the LORD. They wait on the LORD even when there is no man to help. They never quit their faith and duty while in trouble, but remain steadfast in faith.