A New Song

As rich and powerful and famous as King David became, he did not live what one would call a "charmed life."  His ups were counterbalanced with downs.  His advances were returned in retreats.  His gains were emptied in losses.  He was anointed king only to be exiled by a jealous king he was to replace.  His own son started a resurrection against him and put him on the run again.  No, his life was not one of continual ease, but it was one blessed by God in, throughout and beyond his struggles.

Listen to the words of David as he describes the depth to which he would sink and what God would do: "I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. 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 the Lord and put their trust in him" (Ps 40:1-3).

In those times when David would sink into the pit and begin swimming in mud, he would turn to God and God would overturn his despair, setting his feet on rock-solid ground once again.  And then, he would give him a new song.  This is an important point to get: When God pulls you out of the mire, he sets you on new ground and gives you a new song.

It is up to you, however, to stand on this new ground and sing this new song.  It is not a time to start looking back like Lot's wife when they were being freed from the pit known as Sodom and was turned into a pillar of salt (cf. Gen 19:26).  Recovering drug addicts often are sunk back in the pit when they hook up with old friends in familiar places.  Formerly abused wives are known to return to the man who beat them and does so once again.

Perhaps the saddest is the one who loses a spouse or a child and sinks into the mire of depression, tearfully lamenting that life can never be the same, which it cannot, but life can be.  And God can give them a new song, a new beginning standing on a rock-solid new way of living that embraces the joy and the beauty and the wonder that God can provide - even after unthinkable loss.

By accepting His new song, we not only find joy again but we give hope to others who suffer loss, allowing them to see the glory of God who breathes new life into a life that has ended and gives new hope when all hope is gone.  Living in the pain of your loss will not be of benefit to anyone, least of all you.  But embracing the new life, singing the new song God has written for you will!  It will allow you to experience the joy of the Lord and allow others to see it in you and be drawn to the Father.  Jus' Say'n.