• Read Psalm 40

MORNING— God’s Recovery Plan

• Focal Passage: Psalm 40:1-3

“I waited patiently for the LORD; and He inclined to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will see and fear and will trust in the LORD.”

Psalm 40 is a psalm of restoration, but David makes one thing clear from the start: recovery begins with waiting. Not passivity—dependence. David does not describe clawing his way out of trouble.

He does not climb out of the pit. He is lifted.
He does not create stability. God sets his feet on a rock.
He does not manufacture praise. God puts a new song in his mouth.

That order matters. When people try to restore themselves, they often substitute motion for healing. Energy is spent, but footing remains unstable. David understood that lasting restoration requires restraint as much as effort.

In 2019, Michael W. Smith publicly acknowledged a long struggle with anxiety that had followed him through decades of ministry. Rather than pushing through or hiding behind productivity, he stepped back from touring, sought professional help, and accepted limits he had previously ignored. The process was not rushed. There was no dramatic relaunch. What followed instead was steadiness—clearer boundaries, a slower pace, and a healthier presence.

Smith later said that asking for help did not weaken his witness; it preserved it.

Psalm 40 describes that kind of recovery. God does not simply remove someone from the pit; He places them where they can stand. And when He does, the change becomes visible: “Many will see and fear and will trust in the LORD.”

• Reflection:  Where are you tempted to rush ahead of God instead of allowing Him to set your footing?

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EVENING— I Have Come to Do Your Will

• Focal Passage: Psalm 40:7-8

“Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come; In the scroll of the book it is written of me. I delight to do Your will, O my God; Your Law is within my heart.’”

David’s words are sincere. He wants to do the will of God. He delights in it. He places God’s law in his heart and offers himself in obedience. Psalm 40 records a genuine desire—not empty words, not ritual compliance, but a heart aimed toward God.

Yet we know the rest of David’s story. His desire outpaced his ability. His resolve did not always hold. The king who longed to obey could not sustain the obedience he wanted to give.

That is where Psalm 40 reaches beyond David.

The writer of Hebrews takes these words and places them on the lips of Jesus Christ. “Behold, I have come to do Your will.” What David desired, Jesus accomplished. What David meant sincerely, Jesus carried through completely.

In Gethsemane, the greater David faced the full weight of the Father’s will. He did not shrink from it. He did not modify it. He surrendered to it: “Not My will, but Yours be done.” Where David faltered, Christ stood firm. Where obedience failed in Israel’s greatest king, obedience was perfected in Israel’s true King.

Because Jesus obeyed fully, the will of God did not merely confront us—it redeemed us. “By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:10).

Psalm 40 reminds us that longing to obey is not enough. We need a Savior who obeyed in our place.

• Reflection:  When your desire to obey exceeds your ability, do you rest in the obedience Christ has already accomplished?
• Closing Prayer:  Father, we thank you that You sent your Son to save us.  To lift up from the pit and up onto the Rock. We are so thankful that when our desire to obey fell short, Jesus said:  “I have come to do You will.”  Keep our lives pointed toward Your glory.  Amen.