It’s the pits…
Pits, wells, cisterns, dens, tombs, jails…..praise…
This past week I have talked to many who are going there a “pit” time…those times when we feel like we are down in the “dumps, the pit of desperation “…sometimes it is hard to even look up to the light…
Here’s Jonah, thrown overboard, only to be caught by a whale for three days…and what does he say, …”but You, Lord my God, brought my life up from the pit…”
What better words to say or hear…, You, Lord my God”
He said:“In my distress I called to the Lord,and he answered me.From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help,and you listened to my cry. You hurled me into the depths,into the very heart of the seas,and the currents swirled about me;all your waves and breakersswept over me. I said, ‘I have been banished from your sight;yet I will look again toward your holy temple.’ The engulfing waters threatened me,the deep surrounded me;seaweed was wrapped around my head. To the roots of the mountains I sank down;the earth beneath barred me in forever.
But you, Lord my God,brought my life up from the pit. “When my life was ebbing away,I remembered you, Lord,and my prayer rose to you,to your holy temple. “Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God’s love for them. But I, with shouts of grateful praise,will sacrifice to you.What I have vowed I will make good.I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the Lord.’”Jonah.2.2-9
Looking through the Word, there were many who experienced the
“Pit”…who gave praise to their Lord…
Here’s Joseph, thrown into the pit by jealous brothers…experiencing family separation for years, thrown into jail, falsely accused…but, finally saying, “God meant it for good”…and was revered enough to have his bones carried to the promise land when the Israelites journeyed in the desert for 40 years…
When Reuben heard this, he tried to rescue him from their hands. “Let’s not take his life,” he said. “Don’t shed any blood. Throw him into this cistern here in the wilderness, but don’t lay a hand on him.”
Reuben said this to rescue him from them and take him back to his father. So when Joseph came to his brothers, they stripped him of his robe—the ornate robe he was wearing— and they took him and threw him into the cistern. The cistern was empty; there was no water in it.
Gen.37.21-24
Or Job…tested and tried, by Satan, “friends”…
God has delivered me from going down to the pit,and I shall live to enjoy the light of life.’ “God does all these things to a person—twice, even three times— to turn them back from the pit,that the light of life may shine on them.
Job.33.28-30
Or David, anointed king, but spit upon, harassed, chased, the object of a killer, lost friend, grief, sinner, …only to elevated to the lineage of the World’s Saviour..
I will exalt you, Lord,for you lifted me out of the depths and did not let my enemies gloat over me. Lord my God, I called to you for help,and you healed me. You, Lord, brought me up from the realm of the dead;you spared me from going down to the pit.
Ps.30.1-3
He lifted me out of the slimy pit,out of the mud and mire;he set my feet on a rockand gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth,a hymn of praise to our God.Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him.
Ps.40.2-3
Praise the Lord, my soul,and forget not all his benefits— who forgives all your sin and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit-and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Ps.103.2-5
Or Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, thrown into a pit to starve, saved to proclaim the truth..
So they took Jeremiah and put him into the cistern of Malkijah, the king’s son, which was in the courtyard of the guard. They lowered Jeremiah by ropes into the cistern; it had no water in it, only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud. Then the king commanded Ebed-Melek the Cushite, “Take thirty men from here with you and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the cistern before he dies.” So Ebed-Melek took the men with him and went to a room under the treasury in the palace. He took some old rags and worn-out clothes from there and let them down with ropes to Jeremiah in the cistern. Ebed-Melek the Cushite said to Jeremiah, “Put these old rags and worn-out clothes under your arms to pad the ropes.” Jeremiah did so, and they pulled him up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard.
Jer.38.6,Jer.38.10,Jer.38.11-13
Or Daniel…thrown into the lions den by jealous leaders…only to be at peace and show the king that God was real, a savior …
So the king gave the order, and they brought Daniel and threw him into the lions’ den. The king said to Daniel, “May your God, whom you serve continually, rescue you!” At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions’ den. When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?” Daniel answered, “May the king live forever! My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty.” The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in him
Dan.6.16,Dan.6.19-23
Or Paul, over and over, jailed, flogged, persecuted…for his testimony of Jesus as Saviour…who counted it all gain for the sake of the Cross of Christ…
The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!” The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”
Acts.16.22-31
And the most important “pit”…the empty tomb…
Christ was beaten, crucified, buried and rose again…He took our “pit, our burden, our sin”…and we don’t have to live in that pit anymore…by believing in the Lord Jesus …we are saved…
Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea, and he himself was waiting for the kingdom of God. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin. On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen!
Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ”
Luke.23.50-54, Luke.24.1-7
Thank YOU…
The love of God…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWnvmKoLWUU
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