Rescued From The Pit

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.

Psalm 40:2

I am convinced that opposites attract. When I married an extreme opposite, I felt like Mark truly was from Mars and I was from Venus. No wonder there seemed to be so much space between us. Our different ways of communicating and handling conflict were enough to land me in an emotional pit. He wanted to stay home, and I wanted to go out. He wanted a hamburger, and I wanted steak. He wanted to be quiet, and I wanted to talk. Imagine that. As more and more of our differences surfaced, I felt that I was falling into a pit that I couldn’t escape. My pit was a rough start to marriage, followed by years of infertility.

I could identify with the story of Joseph. At the age of seventeen, Joseph was thrown into a pit or deep hole by his brothers. In the Bible, the word pit also is a reference to the actual place of hell, but more often, pit is used metaphorically to mean deep trouble, with no way out. That’s how I felt those early years of marriage.

When my world collapsed, I camped in the book of Psalms because that’s where I heard God speaking to me the most. I would read, cry, and laugh. It is also where many pit references are found, in the Psalms and Proverbs.

I searched the Bible, hoping God would show me a way of escape from my personal pit that would please Him. But there was no escape that would bring glory and honor to Him! As I struggled with my circumstances, it became clear to me that I was selfish. Only He could lift me out of this deep hole, set my feet on solid ground, and steady me. I’m so grateful that He did. No one else is able to do that kind of heavy lifting other than God!

Are you feeling that you are in a pit right now, in deep trouble with no way out? God will lift you out if you call on Him—in His way and His time! His way out of the pit is always the best way.