Psalm 69

“Save me, O God!  For the waters have come up to my neck.  I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing;  I have come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me.  I am weary…”

Water, sand, and salt combined might make you think of your favorite beach destination this time of year, but if they are not in the proper ratios, this dream could turn into a nightmare.  The ratios of these very basic ingredients are important.  They can make for quite a deceptive combination, if not, and cause what looks like stable ground to become a trap in an instant.  This trap is known as quicksand. Quicksand looks like stable ground to the eye but when one steps out on it they quickly realize it is not at all.  Their weight, causes the sand beneath them to shift and melt, trapping them.

There are two types of quicksand, wet and dry.  Dry is the most deadly, as you continue to sink down and down into it from its total instability, unless quickly rescued.  Wet quicksand operates a tad differently in that you do not get sucked under, but you are trapped in its clutches and when the tide comes in you have the potential to drown.  One study showed that to just release your foot from wet quicksand, it can take the strength of lifting a medium-sized car. The strategy of being set free from its clutches is to wiggle your foot slightly so that you create a gap where water can flow in the space creating buoyancy.

I am hearing the Lord say, “Spiritual quicksand”.   I see a person /people who have walked out onto, what they thought was solid ground to find that they were trapped in the clutches of quicksand.  Now, you are trapped in feelings of betrayal, abandonment, anger, and of being tricked.  Questioning why God would allow this, if there is a God, and what is so wrong with you that you can’t hear from Him?  Sitting in the misery of it all there is the constant impending doom of high tide coming to just do you in.  The water is rising to your waist, to your chest, and now to your neck.  You cannot free yourself, and panic is setting in.  Hear Him say,

“Peace be still!  Be a prisoner of hope, not of panic and dread.  I have subjected you to this world in hope.  Know that I am here; I am willing and able to free you.  Allow my water to release you from this prison, just as it did for Paul and Silas.  Stop pulling, and fighting, and struggling, you are only making it worse.  You are doing this in your own strength.  Do this in My strength.  Lean into Me. Learn from Me. Receive from Me.  Let the water of My Spirit release you from this trap.  Praise me in this prison, sing praises in this prison and watch the water of My Spirit lift you from this miry clay.”

Whether you find yourself in the clutches of dry or wet quicksand today, cry out for the lover of your soul to save you.  If you do not know Him, cry out to know Him.  If you do know Him and are far from Him, cry out to Him.  It is never too late for God to save you and deliver you to His inheritance He paid for at Calvary.

“The humble shall see this and be glad; and you who seek God, your hearts shall live.  For the Lord hears the poor, and does not despise His prisoners.”  Psalm 69