SOLID GROUND
23rd Oct 2019
I had received an urgent prayer request "text message", and immediately began praying for a friend who is going through a very challenging time. I understand the circumstances which are really difficult and my prayer is that he will find a place of peace and his faith will remain strong.
As I prayed a song came into my mind from a Phil Driscoll album, the key lines are, “Lord, lift me up and let me stand, Lord plant my feet on higher ground….My heart has no desire to stay where doubts and fears dismay…my prayer, my aim is higher ground.” This became the substance of my prayer.
When David was going though a similar time of trial, he expressed his dilemma in prayer to God, whose answer is recorded in Psalm 40. In his moment of crisis God stepped in and David’s testimony is, “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.” The circumstances were threatening to engulf David, he knew there was only one place to go, he went to the God who loved him and was there for him, and was provided with a rock and a firm place.
It goes on to say, “He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God.” The solid ground that God provides takes us away from the sinking sand, gives us a unshakeable place to stand and fills our mouth with songs of praise.
In Proverbs 18:10 it says, “The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous run into it and they are safe.” The danger is that when we are in a time of crisis, we are dominated with scenarios of gloom and doom, our hearts are filled with fear, and we lose our ground of faith.
Don’t let the circumstances drag you into the mud and the mire. There is a strong tower, a rock, a firm place and solid ground upon which to stand.
by Charles Sibthorpe
