I have often wished God would hand me a calendar—not just any calendar, but one with all the important dates filled in. I want to look ahead and see exactly when the answers will come, when my problems will be resolved, when the waiting will finally end, and when life will at last settle down.

I don’t necessarily need to know how God will work everything out. I’d just appreciate knowing when.

Apparently, David knew something about waiting, too. Psalm 40 begins with these words:

“I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry.” (Psalm 40:1)

I love that David tells us God heard his cry. But what catches my attention is what God did next.

“He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.”(v. 2)

What a picture! David describes being trapped in a pit, struggling in the mud, and unable to find solid footing.

Have you ever felt that way?

Sometimes the waiting itself feels like that miry bog. I pray, but nothing changes. I look for answers, but none appear. I try to move forward, but uncertainty makes every step feel unsteady. If I am not careful, I start to believe peace will only come when God finally resolves my current struggles.

But Psalm 40 reminds me that God can give me solid footing before He gives me all the answers. That’s what I find so encouraging about the rock. David doesn’t say God handed him a detailed explanation of everything that had happened. He doesn’t say God provided a schedule for the rest of his life. He says God set his feet upon a rock.

The pit was unstable. The mud was slippery. But the rock was firm.

And isn’t that what we really need? I may want God to tell me when a difficult situation will change, when an unanswered prayer will be answered, or when a season of uncertainty will finally end. But God offers me something better than a calendar. He offers me Himself.

His character doesn’t change when my circumstances do. His promises don’t become less trustworthy because I’m still waiting. And His faithfulness doesn’t depend on whether I can see what He’s doing.

David goes on to say:

“He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.” (v. 3)

Notice the progression. David cried out. God heard him. God lifted him. God established his steps. And then David sang.

Perhaps one reason I sometimes struggle to sing is that I’m still staring at the calendar, wondering when God will do something. Meanwhile, I overlook what He has already done.

He’s sustained me through disappointments. He’s carried me through losses. He’s answered prayers I once thought might never be answered. And He’s remained faithful through seasons I wouldn’t willingly choose to repeat.

Surely, I have reasons to sing!

However, it’s important to realize that David’s troubles weren’t over. By the end of Psalm 40, he’s crying out for help again.

“But I am poor and needy; yet the Lord takes thought for me.” (v. 17)

I love that little word, yet. David is still needy. He still has problems, and he still needs deliverance. Yet the Lord takes thought for him.

And He takes thought for me. What a reassuring truth when I’m tempted to interpret God’s delays as His indifference. Perhaps the greatest lesson of Psalm 40 isn’t that God will always end my waiting as quickly as I’d like. It’s that I can trust Him to sustain me while I wait.

I don’t know what tomorrow holds. I don’t know when every prayer will be answered or how every problem will be resolved. But I know the One who holds tomorrow.

And today, that’s enough.

(Note: The graphics were AI-generated.)