There are so many ways we could go with Psalm 40, but there is only one thing that I believe we are to focus on today. Verse 1:
1I WAITED patiently and expectantly for the Lord; and He inclined to me and heard my cry.
"I waited" and "patiently" are both the Hebrew word "qavah", which means: to look for, to hope for, to expect, to look eagerly for. What was he looking for? The Lord! Jehovah! The Eternal, Self-existing One! What did the Lord do? "He inclined", the Hebrew word, "natah", which means: to stretch out, to extend, to turn to, to hold out to. And He heard David's cry! That reminds me of a New Covenant promise that we have in 1 John 5:14-15:
14And this is the confidence (the assurance, the privilege of boldness) which we have in Him: [we are sure] that if we ask anything (make any request) according to His will (in agreement with His own plan), He listens to and hears us. 15And if (since) we [positively] know that He listens to us in whatever we ask, we also know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that we have [granted us as our present possessions] the requests made of Him.
When David called out to the Lord to deliver him from the hand of Saul, David did not see the answer right away. When Joseph was taken into captivity and ended up in prison, it didn't SEEM like what God had promised could ever come to pass! When Moses was called of God to deliver the people, it didn't seem to him that the people would EVER listen to him! Think of the things that YOU have been believing God for. Does it SEEM like some of them will never come to pass? Well, we have the witness of all of these who were under the Old Covenant that if God promised it, it definitely WILL come to pass! Our responsibility is to make sure that what we are believing for lines up with the Word of God under our New Covenant. When we are sure of that, then we need to "wait patiently", just like David did! We look forward to the manifestation of what we are believing for with expectant hope and eager anticipation, knowing that our God is working on it at this very moment! Don't ever give up and don't ever quit! While we are looking for it, be constantly filling our hearts with the Word of God and staying filled with the Spirit of God. Stay in fellowship with like-minded believers and be about our Father's business of sharing the Good News with everyone we can!
1 Timothy 4:8-9:
8For physical training is of some value (useful for a little), but godliness (spiritual training) is useful and of value in everything and in every way, for it holds promise for the present life and also for the life which is to come. 9This saying is reliable and worthy of complete acceptance by everybody.
If we are truly going to be DOERS of this Word, then we will do whatever we know to do to take care of our physical bodies, which IS of value to us! We will live longer and better lives when we take care of the body that God has given us charge over! This body is the only one we will have while we live out THIS life on Earth! Take care of it! Then we must give even MORE importance to our Spiritual training! That means we will make it a priority to spend time EVERY DAY in the Word of God, reading, studying, meditating, sharing the Word with others. We will spend time EVERY DAY in praise, worship and fellowship with the One, True, Most High, Living, Almighty God of the Bible! We will spend time in fellowship with like-minded believers and we will share the Gospel every chance we get. That Spiritual training is valuable in everything and in every way! Not only in THIS life, but also in the life to come! That's called REWARDS! AMEN! Verse 9 says that this should be accepted completely (obeyed!) by every believer! What say you? I say AMEN!
2 Chronicles 23-24 give us another account of Joash being anointed as king and how he reigned. He started out in a good and Godly way, but when Jehoiada the priest and his mentor died, he had no good influence. Who you choose to spend time with will most definitely influence how your think, talk and act! Spending time with like-minded believers is vital to your spiritual growth! DO IT!
Shalom in Him!
