Posts Tagged: Psalm 40:1-3

“God Won’t Dump You Now!”

“Meditation for the Day

If you believe that God’s grace has saved you, then you must believe that He is meaning to save you yet more and to keep you in the way that you should go. Even a human rescuer would not save you from drowning only to place you in other deep and dangerous waters. Rather, he would place you on dry land, there to restore you. God, who is your rescuer, would certainly do this and even more. God will complete the task He sets out to do. He will not throw you overboard, if you are depending on Him.” (From Twenty-Four Hours a Day: The Little Black Book)

“Psa. 40:1       I waited patiently for the LORD;

                        he inclined to me and heard my cry.

2           He drew me up from the pit of destruction,

                        out of the miry bog,

             and set my feet upon a rock,

                        making my steps secure.

3           He put a new song in my mouth,

                        a song of praise to our God.

             Many will see and fear,

                        and put their trust in the LORD.” (Psalm 40:1-3, English Standard Version)

God is a God who rescues, but God is not only a God who rescues.  God does not rescue me, just so that I can go back and try to drown again.  No.  The author of my 12-step reading for today points out this fact.

What would we think of a member of the coast guard who rescued people from drowning at sea, only to let them slip over the railing of a raging sea and drown?  I’m not military, but I think that might be called “dereliction of duty.”

As soon as I did the 12-step reading that leads off this post, I thought of Psalm 40.  The psalmist praises God for rescuing him from horrible danger, but the psalmist doesn’t stop there.  He also praises God for following through.  God not only rescues the psalmist from a slimy pit, but also sets the psalmist’s feet upon a rock.  And then, God enables him to walk securely.

God’s deliverances are very thorough.  God has thought of everything.  We need to refuse to be minimalists when it comes to God’s ability to rescue us.

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