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

and put their trust in the LORD

– Psalm 40:1-3 (NIV)

It is amazing to me the hope and healing I can find in God’s word when I’m hurting. Last night Jill and I lay in bed and I read portions of Scripture to her, and then we prayed together and fell asleep. It was a beautiful moment.

Psalm 40 is one of the passages that we read. What a blessing to know that we can wait patiently for the Lord. That He gives us a firm place to stand that cannot be shaken. That He puts the very song in our mouths that we sing back to Him.

And that spiritual blindness can be healed and the fear of the Lord restored. That trust in Him can be restored for the prodigal. That there is always hope.

Waiting patiently . . .

If you’ve never checked out Jen’s blog Lintefiniel Musing you must. She’s one of my favorite blog-friends.

In this post Jen shares her favorite story about her favorite disciple. An excerpt:

I love how it comes back to the men fishing and Jesus coming back to the beach. I love that they caught nothing and that Jesus told them to throw out the nets again, with them not realizing that it was Jesus. I love that he gave them the same miracle as when he called them to discipleship. He completed the circle and I love that. And I love the visual of Jesus hanging on the beach, near the fire, cooking breakfast for his dearest friends. But what I love most is Peter’s response when he does eventually realize that the man on the beach is Jesus. He jumped into the water. Excited, unabashed, joyous – he jumped into the water after putting his cloak back on. I think he got that backwards.

Then comes Jesus’ gentle love and forgiveness as he reinstates Peter with the echo of a past conversation. “Do you love me, Peter?” asked three times – each one of Peter’s answers in the affirmative the balm for each instance of denial on that horrible night. “Feed my lambs, take care of my sheep, feed my lambs,” he was instructed. Then Jesus ended the conversation as he began their friendship, “Follow me.” Peter did as he was instructed – faithfully leading the fledgling Body of believers until his own martyrs death.

Peter is a hero of the faith – when tested he failed and he passed. Just as we all do – we all fail at times when we are tested. And we all pass with flying colors at others. Take solace in the grace extended through Jesus – no one is beyond redemption and that is the hope of Easter.

Thanks, Jen, for the reminder.

1 Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, for your sins have brought you down. 2 Bring your petitions, and return to the LORD. Say to him, “Forgive all our sins and graciously receive us, so that we may offer you the sacrifice of praise. 3 Assyria cannot save us, nor can our strength in battle. Never again will we call the idols we have made `our gods.’ No, in you alone do the orphans find mercy.”

4 The LORD says, “Then I will heal you of your idolatry and faithlessness, and my love will know no bounds, for my anger will be gone forever! 5 I will be to Israel like a refreshing dew from heaven. It will blossom like the lily; it will send roots deep into the soil like the cedars in Lebanon. 6 Its branches will spread out like those of beautiful olive trees, as fragrant as the cedar forests of Lebanon. 7 My people will return again to the safety of their land. They will flourish like grain and blossom like grapevines. They will be as fragrant as the wines of Lebanon.

8 “O Israel, stay away from idols! I am the one who looks after you and cares for you. I am like a tree that is always green, giving my fruit to you all through the year.”

9 Let those who are wise understand these things. Let those who are discerning listen carefully. The paths of the LORD are true and right, and righteous people live by walking in them. But sinners stumble and fall along the way. – Hosea 14 (NLT)

God’s promises: so refreshing. He really does love us.

Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. – Isaiah 53:4-6

He is in the tomb. It is quiet – the travail and torture of good Friday is over. All creation holds its breath.

We don’t often think about the quiet, tense Sabbath the disciples endured the day after the crucifixion. What a horrible day that must have been for them. They didn’t know that the next day would usher in a joy that, on Saturday, they wouldn’t have believed possible.

Sunday came, our lovely Lord Jesus rose from the dead, and nothing has been the same since.

In my own life I enjoy the happy results of that amazing day. I stand forgiven, a child of God blessed through and through, a partaker of Kingdom blessings and of a joy and peace that passes understanding. And yet in one way it is still Saturday – someone I love more than my own life is spiritually dead and cold. I wait and I pray for Sunday to dawn in this precious life, knowing that without Jesus there is no hope of resurrection. In Him alone do I have hope.

I praise the God of Resurrection Sunday!