Quicksand
I waited patiently for the Lord;
And He inclined to me,
And heard my cry.
2 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. – Psalm 40:1-2 NKJV.
An unidentified hiker was 20 mile hike in Utah’s Arches National Park when he somehow became bogged down in Quicksand. He did have a GPS locator beacon that he activated which led to a Park Ranger and the Grand Canyon emergency responders finding and rescuing the hiker. After they were able to free his legs from the quicksand the hiker was able to walk out of the park on his own.
I have dreamed of being able to hike the 20 miles in the Arches National Park to where there is an arch which is named the Wrather Arch. The Arch is 165 feet tall and 250 feet long. It is located in the Wrather Canyon. The Arch and Canyon are named for William Wrather, a past USGS Director and Trustee. Maybe I can take a helicopter ride out to the Arch? I’m not crazy enough to try to walk to it!
King David knew what it was like to be trapped with consequences of his own sin. After the sin with Bathsheba, he ordered the murder of her husband Uriah. The Prophet Nathan confronted David with his sin and said the immortal words (From the old KJV.) “Thou art the man.”
David could have simply dismissed the prophet or had him thrown into prison as some of the evil kings did but instead, he turned in repentance to the LORD. Psalm 51 records his prayer of repentance. Here are some of the words of his prayer of repentance (Psalm 51:1-3 NKJV):
“Have mercy upon me, O God,
According to Your lovingkindness;
According to the multitude of Your tender mercies,
Blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
And cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I acknowledge my transgressions,
And my sin is always before me.”
Sin is like quicksand in that it draws you in until there is really only one way out. David took the way out through the compassions of God that are new every morning. We are told this in Lamentations 3:22-23 NKJV:
“Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed,
Because His compassions fail not.
They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness.”
If you are trapped in your sin like quicksand do what King David did and plead for the mercy and help from the LORD.
1 John 1:9 is still in the Bible: “If we confess our sins, He (Jesus) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”