What’s Your Story?
Elaine Poproski Download: Audio
Click here to read the sermon.
Check out this great song, titled God Is In This Story. It speaks to the profound affect of God’s presence in our lives — our stories.
Scripture: Psalm 40:1-11
I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. Read more…
Looking to Sunday
by Elaine Poproski
I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. (Psalm 40:1)
How are you with waiting? Is it easy? Is it difficult? Maybe it depends on what you’re waiting for? As a kid, waiting for Christmas was incredibly difficult. As an adult, that kind of waiting isn’t such a big deal for many of us. But waiting for biopsy results is another story. Is there anything you’re waiting for today? Maybe you’ve been praying for something and you’re still waiting for God to answer. Sometimes those kinds of prayers can go on for years. Sometimes the waiting goes on so long we give up.
We don’t know what the author of Psalm 40 was waiting for, other than it was some kind of deliverance from something. This Psalm begins with the waiting, but it’s really a psalm of thanksgiving (at least, the first 10 verses are a psalm of thanksgiving, and those are the verses we’ll be reading on Sunday). It’s a psalm that celebrates that the waiting was not in vain.
I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry.
When I’m waiting for God to answer my prayer – my cry – I need to hear other people’s stories if I’m going to keep waiting patiently and not give up. I need you to tell me about a time you waited and waited for God to act, and then he did. I don’t care if he acted like you thought he would. I just need to know that your waiting ended with God doing something. Because if your waiting was not in vain, maybe mine isn’t either, even if it feels like it’s been forever.
What story do you have that others who are stuck in the waiting need to hear? What encouragement from your own experience do those who are still waiting need to hear? As you prepare for Sunday, perhaps spend some time considering this question. Perhaps spend some time asking God if there’s someone specific who needs to hear your story – your experience. And if you’re stuck in the waiting right now, perhaps read through Psalm 40:1 – 10 a few times. Read it out loud. Listen for the encouragement it offers in your own waiting.