I waited patiently for the LORD; And he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. Psalm 40:1-‬2 (KJV).

REFLECT:
It could be very trying during seasons of distress, and even more distressing when we are crying out for help and it looks like there is none. In a situation where help and relief seem to be taking so long to get to us could be very excruciating.

Even more troubling during such times is that we may not get the relief from those we look to and expect to be there for us. So what do we do in such dire situations?

Our Bible verse for today— Psalm 40:1-‬2 gives us some vital information on what we must do during such times to get the relief that we earnestly desire. The information presented to us here painstakingly takes us through a step-by-step process on how to achieve the best possible results we need.

On our part, this will require that we take our eyes off of our fellow men, and put them on Jesus. We must believe that the solution and relief we are looking for can only come from God, and by following His directions.

So, how does our Bible verse instruct us to go about this?

First and foremost, we must bring God into the picture, by first taking all of our concerns to Him and believing He can help us and deliver us from all our fears. Psalms 34:6.

When we believe God and cry to Him, He hears us. Our initial faith no matter how small allows Jesus the Word of God and the Holy Spirit, the power of God to come into our situation to deliver us. Matthew 17:20.

Secondly, we must give God our expectations and estimated time, which for the  purpose of our discussion, we may coin as ‘waiting time.’ It is very typical of us to be impatient, we always like things done at the time we want. When we give God our waiting time, He brings us into His time frame. This waiting time is the bridge between where we are and where we are expecting to be.

It is at this time, that if we are sensitive in the spirit we begin to experience God’s supernatural power working in the situation. We will start to sense the outpouring of divine grace, patience, and hope growing in our hearts. This is Supernatural, and we may not even understand it, because it is not happening by our power or ability.

Also, in this time God is using our trust and faith in Him to work to bring us into a deeper relationship and understanding of who He is, His love, power, might, and all that He is capable of. We begin to appreciate Him for who He is. This builds our confidence in Him, His authenticity, truth, and reliability.

Thirdly, God brings us to the stage of equipping us. He encourages us by His Holy Spirit to begin to search and seek Him out from His Word and fervent prayer. As we allow the Holy Spirit helps us to understand the Word of God, it produces boldness, stability, faith, and even more faith. Through this God brings us in partnership with Him to stand against the problem and the enemy of our souls- the instigator of all our problems.

“Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight.” Psalms 144:1 (KJV).

Fourthly, He gives us the expectation of victory, even before we see it.

“And when he saw a fig tree in the way, he came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only, and said unto it, Let no fruit grow on thee henceforward forever. And presently the fig tree withered away. And when the disciples saw it, they marveled, saying, How soon is the fig tree withered away! Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.  And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.”  Matthew 21: 19-22 (KJV).

Lastly, we get to see the manifestation of our victory. Our expectations will never be cut short (Proverbs 23:18). God comes through for us, and not only that, He ensures we have come out of the situation stable and grounded in Him, just as our Bible verse for today rightly declares- “He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.”
Psalm 40:1-‬2 (KJV).

In times of distress when we turn to God with the right attitude, approach, and strategic understanding, God unfailingly answers and delivers. Hence He ensures that our call for rescue attains the relief we need.

Ebimobo W. Obasi

PLEASE PRAY ALONG:

A Prayer to Patiently Wait on God’s Timing and Relief.

FATHER GOD, I don’t always understand Your timing, but I want to patiently wait on You. Please hear my prayers and comfort me when I struggle to understand Your plans. Thank You, LORD, because when I patiently wait You always come through for me. Therefore, I will trust and wait on You. In JESUS MIGHTY NAME AMEN.