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The Psalm 40 Study: Step 2 Identifying the Pit

Writer's picture: Melissa GrawMelissa Graw

The last blog I had written on expectation.  As with any journey, there is always a destination in mind. Do you ever have a favorite vacation spot? Some place you that go with your family every year?  That place where you relive the best moments of family, laughter, and love.  There are no worries in this place, there are no bills, depression, anxiety, no hurt, no failure, none of the situations your "real life" engulfs you in every day. 


In this next installment of the Psalm 40 Study, our journey will lead us to a town called Freedom and Joy. This place is serenely beautiful with friendly people who are overjoyed to see you. You matter here. You jump out of bed with an anticipation of what the day will bring.  I have visited this beautiful little town a few times, but, I never manage to put down roots, buy a house and live here.  After a few days, I hear that nagging voice whisper to me, "it’s time to move on, you have too much junk in your life to live here.” I have succumbed to that nudging many times, because at the core, the voice is right, I have too many things wrong with me to live here. 


So, we reluctantly pack up and head back to “real life” and all that brings with it. We return to our pit. Maybe some of you thought, I don’t think I have ever vacationed away from my pit. So what is our pit.  It’s different for each of us. What keeps you bound in a joyless life? That is your pit.  Before you or I can move to the town of Freedom & Joy, we have to discover what is keeping us here.  Just like when you leave on vacation, you pack what you have to take with you.  I fear, the stuff we pack in our baggage is what keeps us from even leaving. 


I have a confession.  I love going to weddings and celebrating a dearly loved couple as they begin their new life together…however, I hate the preparation for the wedding. I spend weeks, digging through my closet in hopes of finding a dress I haven’t worn a hundred times before. I try them on with new accessories hoping no one will notice I wore that to the previous wedding. I become so stressed out trying to find a dress. I search online a new dress, however, when you are plus-sized, flattering dresses are not easy to find. I will find a dress that I haven’t worn in ten years and I determine to go with that one.  But the day before I try it on again, I am usually disappointed about how I look and tearfully declare "I’m not going, I have nothing to wear!”  


This is a light parallel of what I mean by baggage that keeps us from getting out of the pit. Sometimes the situations, hurts, frustrations and so overwhelming, we just decide it’s more comfortable to stay where we are. We throw our hands in the air and declare, “I just have to deal with it and stay home.” In the step 1 of this study I wrote about expectation.  Expectation is the springboard to propel us forward into action.  We must expect that God will lead us all the way to the town of Freedom & Joy and all we need to pack is our essentials and leave the rest behind. 


If I could be transparent, I have gone through a long trial that had come in the form of a great disappointment in a situation that should have been a “God dream”. It really is a God-given dream, something I never imagined I could ever have, but it was wrapped up in some dashed expectations. For nearly three years, I have struggled with the emotions and thoughts of a dream that didn’t turn out, in several ways, what I expected. Because I struggled with the ”why’s” of the disillusioned dream, I felt beat up by the enemy every single day.  We always think we can hide our discouragement, anxiety, depression and more, but we cannot. When we are in a pit, everyone knows it. This makes matters worse because you are left alone, left behind, cast aside, and overlooked by people because you are in the pit and no one wants to get their hands dirty to help you out of it. The pit becomes your home and people no longer see you and your potential, they only see your pit; your struggles. Even those closest to you, see you as a pit, you begin to believe that the pit is all you are. That has been my battle. I believe I am wounded and broken beyond anyone’s ability to heal me. So, I just suffer with discouragement.


Lately, I have decided to take some serious inventory of myself.  I have evaluated what keeps me stuck in this pit of disappointment and discouragement.  I will not go into all of the details at this point, but I will say, it is something I am taking to the Lord in prayer. Because like the man at the pool of Bethesda, the question is asked, “do you want to be well?”.  You have to not only expect God to heal you, but you have to want to be healed and delivered. It’s easy to stay in the pit. After all, it has become home, it's comfortable. It’s easier to go on coping with our baggage. We have become experts at avoidance pushing down our hurt and brokenness to just keep pressing on. I have done it.  


I am at a place now, that I say no more!  I want to be healed and whatever depths into my heart, the Lord takes me, I trust Him to take out the root causes, but to also pour the healing oil into those places of deep wounds.  Because, I believe God doesn’t want me or you to live in a pit. I believe, God is using this situation to take me to another level of joy, peace and purpose because there is a greater good coming from the dashed expectation.

“I WAITED patiently and expectantly for the Lord; and He inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up out of a horrible pit [a pit of tumult and of destruction], out of the miry clay (froth and slime), and set my feet upon a rock, steadying my steps and establishing my goings. And He has put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many shall see and fear (revere and worship) and put their trust and confident reliance in the Lord“ - Psalm 40:1-3 AM

There is nothing in this scripture that reads, that we have to get ourself out of the pit.  The Lord does all the work, He comes close, He hears my cry, He pulls me out, He sets me on the rock, He puts a new song in my mouth.  The only thing the Lord needs from us, is to have faith to believe He can & will do it and to cry out to Him for help.  Others in your life, may walk past you in your pit, but it says the Lord “inclines”.  Do you know what that means?  It means He leans close to you; He comes near. God doesn’t see you as your pit. He sees you! He is so close. He never leaves you. He is with you every day and He is longing for you to ask for help, so He can go to work in your life and in my life. 


“When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. Psalm 34:17-19 ESV

I want to encourage you, before we move on, to take some time over the next few days prayerfully evaluate where you are. Why are you in the pit?  Ask the Lord to reveal truth to you.  You can’t go forward until you evaluate where you are now. It is painful to really dig deep an evaluate your motives, your emotions, your thoughts, and actions. Why do I act this way? Why do I think this way? Why do I react this way?  These are questions you must start to answer, only then can you be honest with yourself and with God. It’s the starting place.  It is scary to dig into those places we have spent so much time covering up, but it will be worth it in the end. Remember, God is close to you, He is near the broken hearted. He is not afraid of your issues and He has the power, grace, ability to heal it all.  Why? Simply because He loves you.


“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Psalms 139:23-24 NIV

Jesus wants to take us to the town of Freedom & Joy to set up a home and live. I hope you will come along with me so we can be neighbors and friends. I’m praying for God’s greatest blessings upon you today.



















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