The Words of Encouragement

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 and put their trust in the LORD. Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods. - Psalm 40:2-4

                                                                                                                                A new Song. These are some difficult times for many. Over and over again I am hearing about individuals losing jobs, health care, relationship problems and so much more. Yes, we have heard these things before, but now seems to be a season of these issues in the lives of people.  Many have become discouraged and are finding it difficult to wait on their changes. Many are losing hope and have become hopeless.
 
As I thought about how to encourage someone this week, this scripture came to my mind. The psalmist states that God lifted him out of the pit and set his feet on a firm ground. Think about this. What does it feel like when things are going against you? You feel as if you have been thrown in a pit and all the slimy, thick mud is trying to pull you further in. That's what this psalmist says, they were in a pit and it was pulling them under.
 
When financial problems hit or relationship problems arise it feels as if you are being pulled further into the problem and it is not comfortable. The wonderful news is that we do not have to simply be pulled into the problems further because we have an avenue of help available to us.
 
The promise to you and I is that God will place us on a firm foundation. Does this mean you will be exempt from problems? No, but it does mean that you and I do not have to be comsumed by them. What God promises to his children is that he will pull us up out of our situations and in the process he will gives us firm foundation. This firm foundation is him. We can stand on that "solid rock" that will never give away.
 
God promises to also put a new song in our mouth and a hymn of praise. Why do you think this is so exciting? Why this is so exciting is because it is out of the ordinary. It is normal for us to be discouraged, disheartened and like a caged bird that does not sing. It is out of the ordinary, a supernatural change that makes us able to sing in times when we are locked in the cages of our situations.
 
When we sing God says that others will see us and fear him. They will see our responses to the things around us but will be amazed at our response. Our response is not like an ordinary response. It is a supernatural response. It is supernatural because you and I cannot sing a new song unless God gives it to us. The scripture says God will give us a new song. 
 
Today, let us rejoice and sing the praises of our God as he places within our hearts a new song; a song of joy, peace, and love. This new song is not a sad song but one that calls us to rejoice because God has saved us from our pits and has set our feet on a solid foundation.
 
Prayer: Lord today we say thank you for providing for us in our times of lack and in our times of need. We thank you that you do not allow our situations to pull us down and to engulf us. We thank you for pulling us up, up toward you and setting our feet on solid ground. You are that solid ground that we stand on. You never change even when our situations and circumctances do. We sing praises to you because you have given us this song of praise. Amen.