Monday Devo - Psalm 40:16-17
“16 But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation
say continually, “Great is the LORD!”
17 As for me, I am poor and needy,
but the Lord takes thought for me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
do not delay, O my God! ”
The immediate context of this Psalm, King David is teaching that though the Lord hears the cries of His children they are to wait patiently for Him because He will work His will in His time, not in our perception of time from our finite perspective. Later on, the early church generally attributed much of the Psalms as being Christ’s prayers spoken through the Old Testament authors, in fact this Psalm is one that is directly quoted in the New Testament in Hebrews attributing its words to Christ, and in the Gospel of John, Jesus is shown fulfilling things in this psalm.
So in looking at these two verses in particular, do I “say continually, ‘Great is the LORD!”? I would say I love the salvation found in the Messiah, but the frustrations of life can suck away my ability to rejoice and be glad. I too often can become preoccupied with being “poor and needy” allowing that to pull my focus from the Lord. I can struggle when I’m not having an eternal and kingdom perspective wanting His will, when I’m instead being stuck in the present worrying about things outside of my control.
I pray we all can refocus on the Lord by seeking Him and HIs will, allowing us to rejoice and be glad because of the salvation found only in Him, the Messiah, our great Lord, Jesus Christ. Let us not forget or be deceived to think that the Father does not notice our distresses and frustrations, regardless of our opinions for timing or outcomes, because He is our deliverer and will in His timing and His plan will not be stopped. But all the same we still pray “do not delay, O my God!”