Sing a new song...

Psalm 40:1-3

¹ I waited patiently for the Lord to help me,
    and he turned to me and heard my cry.
² He lifted me out of the pit of despair,
    out of the mud and the mire.
He set my feet on solid ground
    and steadied me as I walked along.
³ He has given me a new song to sing,
    a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see what he has done and be amazed.
    They will put their trust in the Lord.

She was 16 years old. A burgeoning tennis player in her high school. She had a boyfriend or two, but nothing too serious. Her homelife was shaky at best. She was an intelligent young woman. She loved learning and excelled in her classes. There was a new counselor at her high school. He seemed nice enough. He seemed to take an interest in her. She thought he genuinely wanted to help her work through some issues. One day following tennis practice, she needed a ride home and there he was. He asked if she'd like something to eat on the way home, he ended up taking her to a raunchy motel and sexually abusing her. Her view about love was forever changed that day. Her trust of people was shattered. That young girl was me. That wound pervaded my heart for many years. That hurt and horror dictated my response to many a situation in my life. That despicable act led to so many negative choices in my adult years. You see, he not only raped me and stole my virginity, he ravaged my heart and stole my worth and more importantly my identity. 

So, my question to you is, who have you allowed to steal your worth? It may not be as severe maybe yours was more insidious. But, I believe each one of us can relate to having some piece of you stolen and its time we take it back. Yes, it is our duty to regain that lost piece of our hearts. That sheer act of evil caused me to question who I was, what I had to give, and worst of all who could love me? But, I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt, God does not see you that way. And He most certainly does not want you to see yourself that way. 1Peter 2:9 says we are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that we may declare the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light. Amen! Where is your darkness friend? Are you on the other side? Are you still in it?

 The truth is, we can live so long surrounded by the dark that we forget to turn on the light! The darkness becomes comfortable as we become complacent. It becomes soothing as we fall into the seduction of it. I am here, a living testament to tell you, that no matter what your situation is, God can and chooses to pluck you out of the muck and the mire and set you on solid ground. Psalm 40:1-3 tells us "I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the Lord." There is so much in here, but this is the truth so let's try to unpack it so we don't miss it. "I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry." So this tells us that we are to wait patiently…so hard for so many of us. Patient is not even a part of our vocabulary! For the Lord…not for my next solution, not for your girlfriend's plan, not for anyone else's but the Lords. Probably one of the sweetest and hardest is this "he turned to me and heard my cry". God has not forgotten you, He has not abandoned you. I promise. I know things can look so bleak. You feel like all you've done is cry out to Him and you see nothing. He has not left you, God's timing is perfect. We cannot put human attributes or timing on Him. He is God. He will turn to you and He does hear your cries.

 "He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire." I'm sorry to break it to you all but this is also true. It doesn't say he lifted me out of a situation that was a little hard, or he lifted me out of what was uncomfortable. Times will be hard and uncomfortable, but at this  point sometimes, just sometimes we can still rely on self. Trust me on this. I am Queen of doers. I make things happen. But a pit of despair? Oh let me just tell you, the pit of despair has been my address for the last few months. You all that personally know me can attest to this. It is so hard to still believe when you are in that place, in that pit. Looking around, all you see is the negative. All you feel is the rawness of that pit. It's a cold place where nothing seems to comfort you. But let me tell you when you finally figure out you've got to look up, you've got to reach up, you've got to shut up with believing the lies and negativity, God will lift you up.