"Awake, awake, arm of the LORD, clothe yourself with strength! Awake, as in days gone by, as in generations of old. Those the LORD has rescued will return. They will enter Zion with singing; everlasting joy will crown their heads. Gladness and joy will overtake them, and sorrow and sighing will flee away." (Isaiah 51:9,11 NIV)
Have you spent some time in a pit lately? Or maybe you're in one now?
Maybe it's pit of regret. A pit of despair. A pit of hopelessness. A pit of separation. A pit of bitterness.
Whatever the specifics, a pit is a place our souls do not belong.
Sometimes, we're thrown into a pit through no wrongdoing or choice of our own. We have no say in the matter. Something is done to us or happens to us, and we find ourselves in a hole we had no hand in digging.
Sometimes, we're lured into a pit. We drag our feet at first, but in the end, we make the decision to sit on the edge, put our feet over the side, and let ourselves down.
Sometimes, we jump feet-first into a pit. We know it's a pit. We know we shouldn't. We know better. We do it anyway.
However we got into the pit in the first place, the choice is up to us whether we stay there or not. If we put our name on the mailbox and hang some pictures and arrange the furniture and get comfortable, we have made it our home, though our hearts can never be truly at home there. It is not where we belong. It is not where God wants us.
So out of the pit we must climb. Yet the walls are high and steep. We cannot get a good grip. We will have to have help from above. We look up from the bottom and cry out to God in conviction and confession, and over the side, He extends His strong arm, His powerful hand.
He does all the lifting; we must only grab on and hold on.
When sin has landed us in the pit, the Arm of the Lord lifts us out with His forgiveness.
When ignorance has landed us in the pit, the Arm of the Lord lifts us out with His wisdom.
When persecution has landed us in the pit, the Arm of the Lord lifts us out with His vindication.
When apathy has landed us in the pit, the Arm of the Lord lifts us out with His passion.
When depletion has landed us in the pit, the Arm of the Lord lifts us out with His renewal.
When heartbreak has landed us in the pit, the Arm of the Lord lifts us out with His healing.
When hate has landed us in the pit, the Arm of the Lord lifts us out with His love.
"My soul, praise the Lord, and all that is within me, praise His holy name. He redeems your life from the Pit; He crowns you with faithful love and compassion" (Psalm 103:1,4).
Dear ones, if you're in a pit right now, look up and see the Arm of the Lord extending down to you, eager to redeem your life and pull you out. Reach for His strong arm in faith, and then add your voice to the Psalmist: "The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I called to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I have been saved from my enemies. He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me" (Psalm 18:2,3,19).
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I'd love to hear from you! Feel free to tell me what you really think. Years ago, I explained to my then-two-year-old that my appointment with a counselor was "sort of like going to a doctor who will help me be a better mommy." Without blinking, she replied, "You'd better go every day." All of which is just to say I've spent some time in the school of brutal honesty!