Oh Lord, Don't Delay

Ps. 40:16 But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation
say continually, "Great is the LORD!"
17As 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!

Coming off of the snow retreat there are many who have made decisions concerning repentance, either for the first time or with renewed fervor. Please pray that those who are seeking Him would rejoice in Him. He is the One who brings the increase, He is the One who can take our loves and turn them toward Him and He is the One who enables us to love salvation in Him. Please grant that to us Lord. We want to be glad in all that You are. We desire to have Your song of salvation on our lips and in our hearts, but You must put it there.

In one of the messages from the S/R SKH said "All we have is need". I love this truth and v17 is a great reminder of that. Not that in my flesh I love being poor and needy, but in my heart I know that I have no good of my own. I have a hard time believing that God can be my help, because helping me would insinuate that I bring something for Him to add to. I don't have any wisdom or strength, on my own, so how can He help me, He has to do it all. I once heard it said, "God is not my crutch, He is my stretcher". How true that is.

But I love that David follows "poor and needy" with "The Lord takes thought for me". Why would He do that, except that He loves me? There is no part of me that is deserving of this love, or thought. There is nothing I have that He hasn't given to me, so why would He love me? The only thing He gets from this relationship is a poor and needy beggar, and yet He thinks of me. WOW.

He is my Strong Deliver, an every present Help in trouble, the Rock I cling to, the Shelter in the time of storm, the living fountain that doesn't run dry, my Shepherd and Pasture, Teacher, Wisdom Giver, Life, Health and greatest, truest Joy. He is the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last and yet He takes thought for me.

Lord, that I would see and rejoice in your salvation, that I would forsake all other "joys" for the true joy that is only in You. Encourage me where I need to be encouraged and discipline me where I need repentance. Don't let me dwell long in my sin and luke-warmness. Give me the desire to be zealous for You. You can do all this in me, don't delay. Work on my heart today that I might see Your hand in all of this and sing "Great is the Lord" because of what You have done in my heart. I will not desire any of this on my own, so change my loves, change my passions, change my desires to all be You and only You. Thank you for the work that You have started and for not being a quitter. You promise to complete the work You start, so continue to mold and shape me to what ever it is that You want me to be.