~ written by Connie Dunmyer
Have you ever been in the pits? Big pit? Little pit? Did you fall in your own pit? Or did you get thrown into someone else’s pit? If we live long enough, I think we all end up in the pits at some point.
“I’ve been in the pits so long, I’m starting to think I work for NASCAR.”
“They say when you hit rock bottom, you can only go up. Guess I’m still tunneling through the pits.”
The other morning I awakened a bit depressed. And while I was getting dressed I “heard” the enemy say to me ‘you should just do other things and not bother spending time with God because You’re feeling so bad’. This is the type of message I’ve been susceptible to in the past. But that day I responded like a child – I put my fingers in my ears and repeated “No, no, no – la la la – I’m not listening, I’m not listening”.
I would love to tell you that at that moment my 'morning blues' turned into 'rainbows and lollipops'. Instead within a very few minutes I was hit with a bad case of abdominal pain and diarrhea. I hoped it was a “one & done” – but it was not. I became so weak I headed back to bed thinking that any quiet time with God simply could not exist, but that surely God would understand that. After time in bed, I started to feel better and headed back to work. With only about 90 minutes left, I thought – “well, I guess I was right – no time with God.” And almost immediately I was struck with “… then the devil got his way. He won.” That thought stopped me in my tracks and I said to myself – “so it was him… he did this to me.” And so I replied to myself, “NO! I’m going to read this lesson and pray and spend whatever time I can with God.” The following is what came to me from those 90 minutes.
1Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, 3 who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, 5 who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. . . (read the rest of Psalm 103 … you’ll be glad you did.)
When I read this, I saw I had a date beside it, January 9, 2008. So I went back to my prayer that date, and as I read it, I was struck by multiple things (regarding my prayer and from this scripture):
- I was told even back in 2008 something the Lord had just reminded me of a few days ago – that in protecting my life, and in taking me through some pretty crappy events, was less about me, and more about my children. Like He did for Abraham, God was protecting the promise for my children.
- God reminded me that He cares about “the little things” in my life – then and now. I’m not sure that He even looks at them as “little things”. For EVERYthing to God would seem little. Thus when He cares about the things WE care about – they may ALL be little – but He cares just the same.
- In January of 2008 – before either daughter was married – God promised me grandchildren!
- And in answer to another prayer, God “gave me back” a white wreath Christmas ornament that had been lost for multiple Christmases.
- God also showed me that even though I feel like I’m not really maturing and learning as well as I think I should, I’m doing ok. And that I have been in total love and devotion to Jesus for more years than I gave myself “credit” for (as if the credit could be mine anyway).
So even though I may feel like I’m in the pits . . . and indeed, I am . . . I’m not alone and not the only one. Joseph had some experience “in the pits”.
"So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him. Then they took him and cast him into a pit." Genesis 37:23-24
When you’re in the pits, it’s tempting to have a pity party. “Why did this happen to me? How could this go so wrong?” You’re right where Joseph was, so hated by his brothers that they threw him in a pit to die. You did the right thing, but the wrong thing happened. You can either get sour and bitter, or you can do what he did and trust God in the pit. We’re not going to understand everything God is doing. There are difficult times when a pit has been ordained by God. His plan for Joseph’s life was to rule the nation of Egypt. The pit was ordained to get him to Egypt and led to other difficult situations before he finally became prime minister. Sometimes life won’t make sense. In fact, God says, “My ways are not your ways.” You’re doing the right thing, but it hasn’t worked out. You have to trust that God is still in control, that He knows what He’s doing. He’s already planned the end from the beginning. This is what faith is all about. ~ Joel Osteen
Who would’ve figured, that day when thrown into “the pit”, that redemption was coming!!
The “pit” was “part” of the “plan”!
4 He redeems my life from the pit and crowns me with love and compassion. (NIV)
Redemption doesn’t “just happen” for “no reason”. We are REDEEMED from something bad, something ugly, something unfair. Actually, we often require a pit in our life to put the focus ON the needed redemption – on The Redeemer.
Then my eyes “happened” upon some verses in Psalm 105:
17 and he sent a man before them – Joseph, sold as a slave. 18 They bruised his feet with shackles, his neck was put into irons, 19 till what he foretold came to pass, till the word of the Lord proved him true.
So what was that “foretelling”? Foretelling what? I had to read further up.
8 He remembers his covenant forever, the promise he made, for a thousand generations, 9 the covenant he made with Abraham. . . Psalm 105:8
It was the promise God made to Abraham. To keep His promise, God sent Joseph “to the pits”. And so once again, I am reminded that “my pits” are for a reason. And it may have less to do with me, and far more to do with others.
I find this absolutely amazing. For you see, the Israelites were not even IN Egypt yet. They needed a place to live and grow in numbers. (Psalm 105:12). There were too few of them, they were not ready to receive the promise. They needed a place to grow. Egypt was the plan. Joseph sold into slavery was the plan. This wasn't happenstance. . . this was ON PURPOSE!
Like a Master Director, arranging the scenes on a stage . . . God gives vision to Joseph. Joseph tells everyone about his visions. Family gets upset and/or jealous. Joseph is sold into slavery and he enters Egypt. Times are tough. A lot of injustice occurs. Then we enter a famine scene. Everyone is unaware that there is even going to be a problem. God reveals His man. God transfers this man’s family into Egypt – saving all their lives and the lives of the Egyptians. Ultimately the Israelites grow – in strength and number. Egyptians become threatened (more jealousy, more injustice), and so the Israelites are enslaved. This, too, is NOT by accident. God did not want them to STAY in Egypt – either in comfort or in slavery. He did not want them to STAY in the pits. He wanted them to GROW. And at NO TIME did God ever forget the purpose – He never forgot the Promise!
As often happens, when I think my pits are the worst thing ever – I find out there are worse things. And I’m never quite sure just how deep my pits are going to go. But the point is – there is a covenant made – and God is playing the long game – the ETERNAL game. And it’s not only about MY eternity. It’s about my children’s, my grandchildren’s, my families’, my friends’, my neighbors’, my co-workers’, my cashiers’, my pastors’, my accountants’, my garbage man’s, my “fill-in-the-blank” ... all their eternities. Other things are going on. Promises made. Promises kept.
When I give myself to Jesus and say “take all of me and use me” – those are not empty words. And they dare not be. For God WILL take me and use me up. I know He will take care of me along the way, because He promised to – but it may not always be pretty. It sure hasn’t so far. It usually doesn't even make sense to me. And yet – look at all the wonderous times in my life. All the joys. All the beauty. Some of it really has been very pretty, in spite of - nay - BECAUSE OF the very ordained PITS in my life.
Oh Lord, help my focus be there – in the beauty of Your Promise. May my focus be only on You. Thank You, Father, for this time – these 90 minutes or so. Thank You for hugging me, holding me. For filling me. For loving me. No wonder the devil fought so hard to keep me from this moment.
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