"I waited patiently for Yahweh; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth -- Praise to our Elohim (God); many will see it and fear, and will trust in Yahweh" (Ps.40:1-3, NKJV).

King David was in such a situation and so desperate was he that he described his predicament as being like in a terrible pit full of wet clay and being unable to move or get very far. Moreover, there was nothing he could do except call on Yahweh and wait.

Patience is one of those qualities we are here on earth to learn. You've all, I'm sure, heard the anecdote that recalls a believer who went to his minister and asked him to pray for him so that he could learn greater patience. When the minister started praying: "Give my brother trial, tribulation, deprivation, opposition.....", he was interrupted by his parishoner who insisted that he not pray such a prayer! Yet patience is usually the fruit of dealing with hardship in a godly way.

Phillips Brooks, the famous hymnwriter confessed that "the hardest task in my life is to sit down and wait for [Yahweh] to catch up with me". Yet, as Haddon W. Robinson observed, "patience is part of [Yahweh's] strategy for maturing us... It's a lost skill we all need to cultivate". It's a lesson you can try to postpone by hiding but never bypass. It always catches you up.

Did you know that we are admonished to sing Yahweh "a new song" nine times in Scripture? (Ps.33:3; 40:3; 96:1; 98:1; 144:9; 149:1; Rev.5:9; 14:3) The ability to do so comes only as we learn patience. If you have no joy because you're always in a rush, try to slow down. Yahweh will give you a "new song" fresh from the lev (heart) of the Ruach haQodesh (Holy Spirit) that will bring forth spontaneous praise, a proper fear of Yahweh and a deepened trusting (emunah, faith) in Yah'shua (Jesus) but first you must wait patiently for Him!