We’ve all been there, haven’t we? Where we can’t seem to find our way out of despair, discouragement, disappointment or depression. So many circumstances can send us there. How about this pandemic? It probably has more than its share of victims in the pit – or at least it was an accomplice in many cases. And just in the past 24 hours of this writing, our country has been turned upside down politically. Is it any wonder ALL of us have reasons to fall into a pit of some sorts?
The list of situations that can send you there is an individual as all of you. Here’s a small sampling:
- Financial
- Relational
- Career/Professional
- Grief
- Abuse
- Uncertainty
- Isolation
- Hopelessness
- Political
For me, my most recent trip to the pit bottom was triggered by an abundance of loneliness and isolation. It was a perfect storm of widow loneliness + general COVID isolation + Zoom worship + holiday heartache + a 10-day quarantine. All that combined to send me to the bottom of the pit.
Hmmm…I must have been here before because it looks like someone has decorated.
Yes, I have definitely been in the lonely pit before. That fact alone should tell us that I didn’t learn the lesson I needed to avoid falling back down again.
I spent about a week down in the bottom. Why so long, you ask? For a variety of reasons. First of all, there’s some kind of sick pleasure that comes from feeling sorry for myself and holding a pity party in the pit. It’s not biblical; it’s not what God wants for us, but it’s where I stayed a tad too long.
Then there are all the side trips one can take while you’re living at the bottom of the pit. All the depressing, discouraging paths that Satan wants to escort you down. You know the kind. Every possible way to make yourself feel worse. That’s where my mind took me. I don’t even want to list them because, in retrospect, they seem ridiculous. But in the moment? Yep, made sense…and made me feel worse. Woe is me…
So what changed? Over the past few days, God dropped some blessings into my life. My neighbors built THREE snowmen in my front yard, facing the house, to give me some “company.” I had several encouraging conversations with some good friends. God gave me a few content ideas “out of the blue” for my blog and my widow Facebook group. A fellow widow friend agreed to walk alongside me as I create my digital course.
The cumulative effect of these blessings FINALLY got my attention. And ultimately, God reminded me that there is still much good in my life. He put the ladder up and, with his help, I slowly climbed out of that pit.
Is it enough to just emerge from that darkness? Or is it incumbent upon us to learn some lessons as well? Bet you can guess where I’ll land! That’s right, here’s what I’ve learned about life in the pit and then what God wants for us instead. I hope you’ll find some nuggets of wisdom you can apply to your own situations.
- Satan wants us to permanently live in the bottom of the pit.
- We can make multiple trips to the pit bottom, and not even see them coming.
- Pity parties are plentiful in the pit.
- We’re not much fun to be around in the pit.
- We can bring others into the pit with us if we’re not careful.
But know this about God:
- God is powerful enough to lift you out of your despair.
- God WANTS you to live victoriously over whatever sent you to the bottom.
- He can help us fight the urge to throw those pit bottom pity parties.
- He WANTS to drop blessings into your life to help you start your upward climb. Just ask him to give you eyes to see them.
This is unquestionably one of the most difficult seasons in our lifetimes. So many areas of our lives feel unsettled – pandemic, politics, racial unrest – all on a global scale. Add to that the individual challenges we all face on a regular basis and it’s a recipe for discouragement.
So, this calls for more deliberate actions on our parts. Ask God to give you discernment to know when Satan is throwing fiery darts at you. Spend time in His Word so you’ve got scripture to arm you for that battle. Ask others to pray for you.
And my favorite this time – Shamelessly and continuously ask God to bring those blessings into your life when you most need them. He delights in giving gifts to his children.
These are not normal times, so they require “supernatural” intervention to keep us on a solid path – one that shines the light on God’s goodness and his sovereignty. USE these difficult days to cling more tightly to your Heavenly Father. While the pit bottom isn’t where we should live, it can often be where we see our need for God more clearly. And THAT, my friends, is always a good thing.
So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”
Hebrews 13:6