How Long?
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. Psalm 40:1-3 (NIV)
Insight
To say that 2020 and 2021 were tough years for our world is a gross understatement. We all found ourselves navigating uncharted waters. For those of us who are extroverts, being isolated and removed from social settings was extraordinarily difficult. If you are an extrovert much of your energy is gained from being around other people, and when that gets removed, you find yourself with little to no wind in your sails. That was me…feeling alone at sea.
I've been participating in My One Word since 2010. Each January, I work through choosing a word that becomes a lens for God to form something within my character. Honestly, I've never had a problem picking a word until 2021. I felt alone, at sea, with no wind in my sails in every aspect of life, even in my walk with God. It felt less like an ocean and more like a swamp. Every step seemed to take a massive effort to get my feet out of the muck and mire. This feeling of "stuckness" had led me to a place where I began to struggle with doubt and insecurity…these were waters I had never sailed before.
One of my all-time favorite bands is U2. If you've ever seen them in concert, you know that, in many ways, it's nothing short of a worship experience. There's nothing quite like being in a stadium full of 60,000 people with outstretched hands singing along to the song "40", which comes from the words penned by King David in Psalm 40. The only additional words Bono added were, "How long to sing this song? How long to sing this song? How long, how long, how long, how long to sing this song?" That's where I found myself after two years of isolation - in the muck and mire, wondering to myself, "How long to sing this song?"
After struggling to complete our church's annual personal retreat in January of 2021, the Lord revealed that there was nothing I could do on my own to get out of this season of swampiness. But, He was using this time to do something deeply formative within me. My job was to wait patiently for the Lord and trust that in his perfect timing, He would lift me out of the miry clay, set my feet upon a rock - a firm foundation, and give me a new song to sing. I just needed to wait patiently on Him, which was easier said than done. So, I chose the word FIRM to be My One Word 2021.
FIRM was a hard word (pun intended). Whenever I felt insecure or doubtful about my circumstances, the Lord would remind me to stretch out my hand so that He could pull me up and give me a firm place to stand. Over the last year, I've been learning to sing a new song. The Lord has continued to remind me that my firm foundation is not built on my relationships with others but on my relationship with Him and Him alone. He's still teaching me to wait, trust, and reach for Him daily. The word FIRM will forever be a part of me.
How about you? Are there areas of your life where you depend upon other things to fulfill you more than God? Are you feeling alone or in a season adrift at sea, or maybe even in the swamp? Perhaps the Lord has allowed you to be there right now so that you can discover how to wait on Him, trust in His provision, and reach out for Him instead of reaching for other things first.
Reflection
Where are you struggling to wait on God and sense His presence?
What would it look like to declare your dependence on God in this situation?
Prayer
Heavenly Father, I recognize that You are always with me even though I sometimes feel alone and stuck. I confess that when I feel stuck, my default is to try and get unstuck as quickly as possible and sometimes by any means possible. When I do this, I bypass the formative work You are trying to do deep within me. Lord, help me to trust you. Help me to learn to wait on You patiently. Lord, help me to reach out for You and You alone. And Lord, help me rest in that You will give me a FIRM place to stand and put a new song in my mouth. In Your name, Jesus. Amen.
Danny Rogers, Port City's New Bern Campus Pastor, wrote today's devotional.