Psalm 40:1-2 says, “I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.” When we think of our feet, we think of the steps we take or the direction we are headed in. Satan is at work trying to pull us off of the path that God has established for us. You see, God has a special and unique plan for each of our lives. He has a path that He chose for us long before we were even born. That path for each of us includes some of the same things. For instance, it is a part of God’s plan that everyone come to repentance and accept His free gift of salvation through His Son Jesus Christ. The Bible also describes various things that is God’s will for all of us. However, God also has a special and unique plan for each of our lives that differs from one another. For example, God’s plan for you may be to be a lobsterman. Throughout your life He has given you certain skills and abilities to prepare you for His plan for you. He has placed people in your life to help you to achieve that plan of being a good lobsterman. However, whether or not you actually become a great lobsterman is up to you. God created you with a free will. You can choose to recognize what God is doing in your life and follow His plan or you can choose to go your own way. Other choices are much more important. It is God’s plan for you to go to heaven. It is His plan for you to come to faith in the Lord Jesus. However, you have to make the choice as to whether or not you will follow that plan. Your choice will determine your eternal destiny. Unfortunately, Satan will bring things across our paths that look good, but yet, are not a part of God’s plan. He will set traps along our life’s path and often times we will fall into his pit and stray from God’s plan for us. The good news is that no matter how often we stray from God’s plan and fall into Satan’s trap, He will not give up on us. God always has a way to rescue us and put us back on track.

In our text, we find David crying out to God for help. David finds himself stuck in one of Satan’s traps and waits patiently for the Lord to come to his rescue. As we examine this passage, we find that there are three things that God does for David that He will also do for us when find ourselves outside of God’s plan.

God brought him up. In verse two, David mentions that God brought him up out of a horrible pit and out of miry clay. David describes his life as being stuck in a muddy pit. Do you ever find yourself stuck? Does it ever seem like your life is going nowhere? Perhaps you are not in the place God wants you to be. Perhaps you have strayed from God’s plan and you have fallen into a muddy pit. Being trapped in a muddy pit is a fearful thing. Being outside of God’s plan for your life is the most horrible and fearful thing you will ever experience. Many are in a pit and do not even realize it. Perhaps that’s you. Lost in your sin, blinded to the Gospel; you have sunk deep into the muck and mire of sin and there seems to be no way out. For you, dear friend, God sent His only Son, Jesus, to rescue you from your sin. Jesus came and died on the cross and shed His blood in order to save you from the penalty and power of sin. He has offered to you a bridge of hope. A bridge on which you can climb and reach out to the very hand of God as He gently and lovingly pulls you out of that muddy pit. That bridge is called the cross. Come to the cross and you can be rescued. Many Christians also fall into the muddy pit. We get distracted from God’s plan. Perhaps we are tempted with sin and go astray. Perhaps we are so busy pursuing our personal dreams that we cannot hear God’s voice and we go in a direction that we thought was right, yet, it is not God’s plan. We find ourselves in despair and fear as our feet are stuck in Satan’s muddy pit. Thankfully, God will not leave us there. Just as David cried out to God and was brought up out of the pit, God will do the same for us if we call upon Him. In order for God to bring us up out of the pit we must first of all admit that we are in a pit. God cannot help us if we are not willing to admit that we need help. God cannot save us until we realize that we are in need of saving. Secondly, we must repent of our sin. In other words, we must turn away from the thing that got us into the pit to start with. Then we must cry out to God and wait. Crying out to God is asking Him for His help. When we find ourselves stuck in a muddy pit, the only way we will get out is to desperately cry out for help. Are you desperate enough to ask God to help you? Waiting indicates a complete trust in God. You cannot climb out of the pit yourself. Only God can save you. As David cries out to God, his cry is heard and God provides a loving and helping hand. He brought him up out of the horrible miry pit, and God will do the same for you if you will just call on Him.

God stood him up. As God brings David up out of the muddy pit, He then sets his feet upon a rock. A rock is a symbol of security and safety. God picks David up and sets his feet on a safe place. Jesus is pictured in the scriptures as a rock. He is our place of safety and security. He is a stronghold. He is a fortress. When we stand on the rock of Jesus, we are safe and secure. That rock is steady and strong. No matter how fierce the storm, no matter how high the waves, the rock of Jesus will never be moved. A sailor in a shipwreck was thrown upon a rock where he clung in great danger until the tide went down. Later a friend asked him, “Jim, didn’t you shake with fear when you were hanging on that rock?” “Yes, but the rock didn’t,” was the significant reply. Christ is the Rock of Ages.^[1]

God tuned him up. Once God brought David out of the pit and miry clay and once He stood him up upon the rock, He then established his goings. In other words, God brought David back to the right path and set him out on His ultimate plan. God has a way of bringing us back in line with His plan. Perhaps you have taken a little detour. You have gotten off of God’s plan for you. Don’t despair. God will never give up on you. Your goings have been established a long time ago. No matter how far off of His plan you go, as long as your still breathing, there is hope. God will pursue you to your dying breath in loving and passionate desire for you to repent and have your feet firmly established in God’s plan.

In conclusion, I must ask, where are your feet? Are you sinking deep in a muddy pit? Is your life in a rut? Do you feel as if you are stuck? My friends, God does have a plan for you. He has provided a way to rescue you. He will bring you up out of that pit, He will place your feet on the firm and secure rock of Jesus Christ, and He will set you on the path that He has chosen for you. He will do all of this for you, if you call out to Him. Swallow your pride and call out to God today and He will come to your rescue and establish your feet.

^[1] Tan, P. L. (1996). Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations: Signs of the Times (p. 501). Garland, TX: Bible Communications, Inc.