We Are Evidence

Psalm 40:1-3  I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to me and heard my cry.  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.  He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD.

Yesterday as I mowed my lawn, I noticed that one of my bird feeders was not where it belongs. The rope from which it hangs had been pulled up into the tree and wrapped around a branch, and the block of suet inside had been chewed on. Based on all the evidence I knew exactly what had had happened…RACOON.

As I began reading in the fortieth Psalm this morning, it became clear to me that my life leaves traces of evidence by which others are forming opinions of me. Some of the evidence leads them to describe me one way, while other evidence may inspire different descriptions. Whether I agree with other people’s assessment or not is irrelevant. The real issue is that the evidence speaks for itself.

As King David writes this Psalm, it appears to me that his desire is for his life to be the kind of evidence that causes people to acknowledge the reality of God and then turn to Him for salvation. He says, “Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the LORD.”

With that shared desire in my heart I looked carefully at what evidence I need to have that would bring about that result.

• I must wait patiently for the Lord. Waiting in the midst of suffering is difficult to say the least. We want solutions…NOW! Patience is the first piece of evidence that we leave behind that reveals a heart of hope rather than hurt, and it will cause people to take notice.
• I must pray believing that God actually inclines to me and hears me. I love this word picture – God, who is sitting on the throne, hears me speak, and to make sure I know He’s listening, He leans in towards me. He doesn’t need to lean towards me to hear, but He does it so I know He’s listening. The second piece of evidence my life should be leaving behind is that people see me intimately communicating with God.
• I must allow God to lift me up out of my pit and set me on the Rock. I noticed that it does not say that God removed the pit or the miry bog, but rather He lifts me out of it and makes my steps secure. The mess still exists all around me, and if I wanted to I could jump back into it. But the evidence of God’s reality that I leave behind is this…I choose to stand on the Rock of Jesus Christ no matter what kind of pits and quicksand may try to trap me.
• I must change my attitude. I have a choice. I can say I am standing on the Rock while all the while talk about what it’s like to be in the pit, as if I were still there; or I can speak of the One who brought me out of it and rejoice that I’m no longer there. When it comes to attitude, I think Chuck Swindoll said it best:

Patience.

Prayer.

Position.

Praise.

Four evidences of the reality of God in our lives.

Four evidences that we really do trust God.

It is the evidence that the people of the world should be able to see in all of us who follow Jesus.

And when they see it, they will put their trust in the LORD.