I waited patiently for the Lord;
he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
He set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
He put a new song in my mouth,
A hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the Lord
and put their trust in him.
Psalm 40: 1-3
When I was in college my roommate and I were sort of scripture memory buddies. We would work on our selected passages and then we would meet and check to see how the other was doing on their memory work. This passage was one that I chose and it has become "my verse" simply because as a believer in Christ this IS my testimony.....well, I don't know how patiently I wait.... but over and over again, no matter the circumstance the Lord has faithfully turned to me and He has heard my cry when I have been in need. Through his redemption I have been lifted out of the slimy pit of sin and His word is a firm bedrock foundation upon which I can stand.
Yet despite all that the Lord has done, I often find myself asking, where is my new song? Where is my hymn of praise? Where is my heart filled with grateful worship? Have I grown so entitled and unaware that I forget all that the Lord has done? Have I become too busy to notice? Sometimes.....I do forget.... and often I find myself to be too busy...Those times are usually accompanied by a time of self righteousness and exasperated impatience that God is not working according to my plans and on my time table.......
However, when I remember, when I am convicted to pray, when I wait patiently......which I wish were more often...... THEN my heart is filled with a new song and my soul is over-full with hymns of praise and I cannot keep from singing in worship. I find it amazing and very true in my own life that when my heart is filled with a new song and a hymn of praise, others are persuaded to trust in the Lord. As believers our praise is our very best testimony of who God is and our most convincing call to follow him.
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