Artist: Rick Stassi

1 I 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.

Psalm 40:1-3

We are thus restored.

Jesus Christ has renewed us from lifeless ash

To the flourishing green leaf of spring growth.

Vigorous.

Full of life, we are.

We unfurl as we grow,

Ever-reaching toward the glow of our Father, the warmth,

The Light.

He is our Lord.

He is Lord of all Creation.

…and I have patience. I wait on Him. For He welcomes our inquiries, our wonderment, our marvel, our seeking. He answers in His time. But know we are blessed! As we ask, He inclines an ear. He bends down toward us to show us He cares about what we are asking. He has His timing but He wants us to know in our period of waiting and patience, He leans toward us as a Father to His child. “Bless you my child”, He may say. “You wait in perfecting patience and I will answer”, saith the Lord, again, He may say. He hears us. Discouragement is released. For here in these verses God promises He hears us. Discouragement is a lack of trust when indeed we are promised. Rest in His promise.

…and I am delivered. My feet may sink well up to my ankles in clay that holds my gait from movement.  I stand in a well and look up thousands of feet and see a pin-sized light that is the top of the pit and my impossible exit. Yet, He removes me from a pit I have probably created myself and now reside in, entrapped. He frees my feet from a path where in each impossible step I become more and more trapped. I chose this path? Why did I stray? However, I have faith He will deliver. He returns me to the path that is built upon a solid foundation. Jesus. “You have shown perfecting trust, child”, He may say. I am empowered in growth.

..and He blesses me. A new song pours forth from  my mouth; no from my heart to my mouth. It rings out, a beautiful sound. The peel of a bell. The violin of my heart in symphonic rhapsody. I am blessed and all sound is in His glory, from Him, to Him, for Him. Many will see. Many will hear. It is to His glory we respond. He delivers, restores, and we sing a new praise. We are evangelists.

For what man digs a pit, climbs in, is entrapped, rescued, and then thanks himself? Foolish. His rescue is God’s hand.

For what man strays onto a miry, clay path and sinks to his ankles unable to move, is freed, walks again on solid ground, then thanks himself? Foolish. It is God’s hand. We grow stronger in our faith. It is Him helping us in our follies.

Finally, what man sings a new song for our Lord each day? The man who knows Jesus Christ who is our bedrock, our Salvation, our Deliverer! A godly man – in character and integrity all from God.

See this: There is an internal deliverance, an internal trust – ever-perfecting us. Then as we are willing to wait on and trust  Him, we sing forth praises so all will hear. Praise God for His way. He appoints a time to listen, a time to  hear, and a time He will act. We learn these stages-they are part of our perfecting process. Then He tells us: “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the World”. This is our song! We shout it out. The peel of the bell. The violin of our heart.

Rick Stassi

2/19/2012