Avoid the Miry Clay

If you are from Western Kentucky, Psalm 40:2 takes on a special significance.

I thought about that “miry clay” reference as I was planting some flowers around the deck of my dad’s old house recently. The West Kentucky clay is probably what inspired the makers of Gorilla Glue. That clay, that lies just beneath what looks like regular 'ole dirt, is the ickiest, stickiest stuff on planet earth.

Just when you almost scrape it off your boots, you look at the shovel and the spade and realize cleaning it off everything it touched will take all “four” of the “evers.”

Now, clearly the Psalmist was not in West Kentucky, but his comparison of miry clay to sin is spot on. Just when we think God has removed our sin from us, we realize there’s still a little left on our shoe or on our garden rake.

When we finally drag ourselves out of that miry clay, we often don’t look behind us to realize we are leaving a trail of sin that those who follow us will surely encounter.

The miry clay on our feet affects people who are watching us. For public figures, that means it affects our audience. More tragically, it affects our families and everyone else in our circle of influence.

But the Psalmist reminds us, God can pull us out and set our feet on solid ground. And when we allow Him to do that, "many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in Him." 

Redemption is always an incredible God thing, but let's make it easy on ourselves and watch where we step in the first place.

-- Gina Adams