“I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry.” Psalm 40:1
Seasons
We all understand how seasons work. Here we are in what we call the holiday “season.” It is a time of life that comes around and around, with certain things we can expect and count on. These seasons bring holidays and customs, some we love, and some we dread. For example, soon it will be Halloween. Then comes Thanksgiving, followed by Christmas, New Year’s, and Valentine’s Day. We have memories, expectations, smells, foods, movies, and feelings attached to these times.
Some of these cycles are tough to get through, though. Sometimes it seems like life would be easier if we could move past certain things without needing to circle back around. Wouldn’t it be awesome if trusting in God were a one-time thing? Wouldn’t it be nice if we repented once and never had to repent again? What if we could muster all our courage, confess our sin once, and never have to confess again? Wouldn’t it be amazing if we heard the gospel once, fully understood it, never forgot it, and always lived worthy of it? But that is not reality.
So, we could easily get frustrated that we find ourselves in the same place again and again. It’s tempting to be overcome with despair at what feels like a lack of progress. But maybe, if we see what God is up to, we can learn to embrace these cycles of life. Like a potter’s wheel spinning continuously, with each turn, the potter forms the clay into something new. In the same way, God uses the seasons and cycles to form His life in us. As we go around again, we are clay in His hands.
The Cycle
What’s unique about Psalm 40 is that it initially seems backwards. Many psalms with similar themes have two parts: they begin with a cry for help, with pleading, and end with either the knowledge or activity of God bringing resolution. But Psalm 40 seems to reverse this order. It starts on the mountain and ends in the valley. But this is intentional. By starting at the top and then bringing us down, we are led to grapple with the question: What is God doing?
After reading and re-reading–something clicks–Psalm 40 ends in the very place it begins. Rather than moving from valley to mountain or mountain to valley, this psalm takes us from season to season. It presents a cycle. Psalm 40 comes around full circle.
Let’s look at the last verse of Psalm 40:
“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!”
So, where do we end up? David feels his deep need, crying out to God, trusting that God is his only hope, but still waiting for God to come through: “Do not delay, O my God.”
Now, if we look back at the first verse, what do we see?
“I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry.”
David waited, and God came through for him. Yet, by the end of the psalm, David is waiting again. This is the cycle of deliverance. We will live out Psalm 40 many times in our walk with God.
The Heart of God
In the next few articles we will explore the different phases to the Cycle of Deliverance. As long as we live, we will always be somewhere in this cycle. This is how God, as the Potter, forms His life in us. But, one day, someone will break the cycle, and we long for that day. But until then, the Cycle of Deliverance continues.
