I Waited Patiently
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I waited patiently for [the LORD]. He turned to me, and heard my cry.
He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay. He set my feet on a rock, and gave me a firm place to stand.
Psalm 40:1-2 (WEB)
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I thought this was a good follow up to yesterday’s email.
An encouragement for us when we find ourselves in the miry clay.
Have you ever walked through some mud and clay? It sucks you in, slows you down, pulls at you, drags you.
Keeps you stuck.
The image difference between the slog of the miry clay and standing on a rock is stark.
Obviously, everything is better on the rock.
The sad part of my own experience is most of the time I find myself in the miry clay due to my own decisions.
It somehow feels easier to cry out to God if I’m in a situation that I had almost no control over. That makes sense for me to need to cry out to God then.
But when I find myself stuck in muck because I made some foolish or poor choices?
I feel like I should be able to get myself out.
“You made your bed, now lie in it.”
Sure, God could take that attitude; sometimes He does.
But He’s also gracious and full of mercy. The miry clay of sin is our problem and yet He was the one who sent the Son to give us a way out.
That same grace can sometimes apply to other struggles in life too.
If you’re stuck in the pit, ask for help.
God loves to help His children; He’ll probably help you out of it too.
— Ricky Ketchum
Copyright © 2026 by Ricky Ketchum. All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication prohibited.
