A song of thanksgiving

“He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see what He has done and be amazed. They will put their trust in the Lord” (Psalm 40:2-3).

It was a Thanksgiving I’d never forget. 

A few years ago, I stayed home while my family traveled out of state for the holidays. Fresh out of college and wanting to assert my independence, I didn’t let my grandmother, who lived down the road from me, know that I would be home alone. The day before Thanksgiving, I drove home from work in some light snow, thinking it would stop after a couple inches. 

The snow eventually grew to nor’easter status, taking out power lines in the process. Even so, I still refused to reach out to my grandmother. “I just don’t want to be a burden,” I told my parents on the phone. I was determined not to ask for help, so I drove in the snow to a local movie theater for a midnight showing, tucking myself in the back row and warming my hands with a watery latte. I returned to a cold, dark house and burrowed myself under a layer of blankets for the night. 

The next morning, I awoke to a pounding at my door. After a call from my parents, my grandmother had bundled herself up and trudged through waist-deep snow to check up on me. I was embarrassed at first. But as we walked arm-in-arm to her house, my pride chipped away to gratefulness as we shared a simple but warm Thanksgiving meal that she had prepared on her portable stovetop. 

Thinking back, I’ve always chuckled at my grandmother’s resolve to come and get me, despite my own stubbornness. It reminds me of all the times that God relentlessly pursued me, even when I was unwilling to admit my need for Him.  

In Psalm 40:2-3, David also speaks of God’s faithfulness. He describes the way God rescued him from “the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire” of his own circumstances. God then brought him to a place of security, what David calls “solid ground,” a place where he could continue to be “steadied as [he] walked along.” This experience brings David to a moment of gratitude, a renewed sense of God’s goodness that he expresses through a “hymn of praise to our God.” In addition to giving thanks, David is confident that others around him will also “be amazed” and “put their trust in the Lord” when they see what God has done in his life. 

I don’t know what your “pit of despair” may look like. Over the years, the “mud and mire” in my own life have looked a lot like loneliness, doubt, and fear. But like David, we can trust God’s faithfulness and His readiness to rescue us when we’re in trouble. And when God does come through, He will give us “a new song to sing,” an opportunity for thankfulness that may point others to Him. 

Daneem Kim serves as a youth leader at Maine Street Baptist Church in Brunswick, Maine.