January 26

What do you do if you’re among the “poor and needy”? What do you do if you have no resources with which to sustain yourself, let alone reach out to share with others in need? What do you do if you’ve lost your job and the work you’ve been doing seems to have folded up—not just within your small sphere but universally?

The Word of God addresses that eventuality in Psalm 40:17 where the author declares that he is “poor and needy, yet the Lord takes thought of me and provides for me, for You, my God, are my Help and my Deliverer—make no tarrying!”

These are the words of a man who is in the throes of despair. His extremity is beyond his own ability to solve. Yet in his dilemma, he has confidence that the One in whom he places his trust is worthy and that his faith in Him must remain steadfast. The psalmist does not wallow in his circumstances! He declares them honestly in a straight-forward manner. Then, he goes on to reaffirm his faith!

He knows the extremity in which he finds himself does not indicate that the Lord has stopped caring about him—he knows the Lord “takes thought” of him and he knows that He “provides for” him. With the affirmation that the Holy One is his Source, he claims that his help and his deliverance will come without delay and he trusts the One on whose promise of provision he depends.