Daily Devotions
He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. Psalm 40:2
How shaky our world today! The dollar slips and slides on the world money market. Political leaders rise and fall. Solid jobs disappear with the rapid change from an industrial to an information society. Long-term marriages break up, with shattering consequences. Long-time church members fall away from the faith. Ministers drop out of their calling. Is there no rock, no security, no firm place to stand?
David in Psalm 40 faces the same uncertainties. He describes himself as being in a slimy pit. His situation is desperate. No strength to fight free from the mud and mire. Aware of his sin and the power of his enemies, he cries out to the Lord for help. Joyfully David proclaims the words of our text. God is his Rock, Redeemer, and Fortress. God lifts him out of the mud and mire. Now David has security. Problems and troubles remain. Sin still afflicts him. But God brings deliverance.
As we cry out to God from the mud and mire of our sinful lives, God rescues us as well. He has sent His Son Jesus Christ as the Rock of our salvation, the Rock upon which He builds the church. Jesus by virtue of His life, death, and resurrection stands firm and unshakable. When we build our house on this Rock, we have a firm foundation.
Problems and troubles remain. The world continues to wobble and totter. Sin still afflicts us. We may fall into other slimy pits. But God stands ready to set us again on the rock of Christ and His unfailing Word. Rejoice. Cling to the Rock. Bring others to the same sure footing.
PRAYER: Lord God, help me to bring others to the sure footing of Jesus Christ, my Rock and my salvation. Amen.
(Devotions from “My Daily Devotion” by Dr. Stephen J. Carter, copyright 1988 CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. For ordering information, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit www.cph.org.)