He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog; and he 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 (Ps. 40:1-2).

One of the men that I respect most in this world is my father-in-law, Bob. He is a real craftsman. The house in which my wife grew up, Bob built with his own hands from foundation to roof. Seeing the fruit of his diligent labors stimulates great regard in my heart for the man.

But Bob’s work was not always easy. The stairs of the house turned twice with tricky angles to reach the second story. After numerous efforts to get the stairs right, there came a moment when Bob walked out of the house into the yard, hung his head and cried. He felt defeated and in a pit of despair, fearing he would never get things right.

But what if, in that moment, Bob could have known our regard for him these many years later? What if he had known that the difficulty of the task, and even the temporary failure, would not diminish our respect for him in the least? In fact, his endurance through the difficulty only increases our regard.

If Bob had known the end from the beginning, he would have been strengthened for his task despite temporary failure. For just such a reason, God assures us now of his regard forever, setting our feet on the rock that is Jesus, so that we have a song in our hearts to finish his work.

Prayer:
Father, thank you for lifting me from my pits of despair by reminding me of the solid rock on which I stand. That rock is Jesus. Help me always remember his grace so I have certainty of your love and a song of praise in my heart.