As Aboriginal People and as Peoples of the Earth, we are so different from each other, in many areas of our lives. Yet, at the same time, we have a few things in common. We all have families, we all need water and food to live, we all have a sense of community, and we all like to sing. Although there are more aspects of life that we have in common, than I haven’t listed, I would like to focus on the last item I mentioned, which is singing.
When I look at Psalm 40:1–3 it says this, “For the choir director: A psalm of David: 1I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. 2He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. 3He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what he has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the Lord” (New Living Translation).
King David sang this song when he was at the end of his rope in life. He was running from his enemies and he was also admitting that he had personal sin in his life. When we think of a king we think of someone who is very strong, brave and courageous, but when we look at these verses in Psalm 40 and other verses in Psalm 37-41, we see a similar story.
Have you ever been at the end of your rope physically, spiritually, mentally, and emotionally? Many Aboriginal Elders recognize these four aspects of life and how important it is to maintain these four areas of our lives, or else we will find ourselves in trouble, just like King David did. Yes, David was a King, but he was also just a man, just a human being, who was born with weakness and sin in his life.
When you take a closer look at this statement that King David made, one verse at a time, it is very interesting what we can discover. In the first verse David was waiting patiently for the Lord and was crying out to the God. Doesn’t this sound familiar with regards to what many Aboriginal People have gone through and continue to go through. All you have to do is watch the National news and you will hear the cry of our people very clearly.
You will hear of political stories where Aboriginal leaders are fighting for the cause of their local people, with regards to broken treaties, or ongoing fights for natural resources that have been misused. You will hear of stories of Aboriginal woman who have gone missing or killed. You will hear stories of the high suicide rates in Aboriginal communities, especially the ones that are in the far north.
Yet, you will also hear stories of the local people saying that some of the leaders are paying themselves far too much, and are robbing the community of finances. You will hear stories of the chief and council getting very nice houses for themselves, but at the same time, some families are going without any kind of housing.
I am here to say that God has heard your cry, and He wants to deliver you. In verse 2, we see that after King David cried out to the Lord, the Lord picked him up out of the pit of despair and out of the mud. Is this something that you would like to happen to you? Would you like to be picked up out of the pit of despair and out of the mud? Have you been patiently waiting on the Lord and crying out to Him?
If this is something you would like to happen in your life, it can happen, and you don’t have to wait any longer. Cry out to the Lord right now, either out loud or in your heart and see what He will do. He will lift you out of whatever pit of despair you are in. Cry out to Jesus Christ and because He is the only One who has the power to lift you up out of that pit and set you on solid ground.
We see King David, being stuck in a pit of despair, and then is lifted out of that pit, and then he is also set on solid ground, but the story doesn’t end there. The Lord puts a new song in his mouth. Why? So that many other people will also put their trust in the Lord.
Please, don’t put your eternal destiny and trust in another human being. Put that trust in the One who wants to put a new song in your mouth, so that when you do sing, it will be a song of praise that brings true healing to your heart and puts you on solid ground, so that other people can have the same experience.
Parry Stelter is originally from Alexander First Nation and is founder of Word of Hope Ministries and lives in Edmonton, Alberta. http://www.wordofhopeministries.ca
