Life is hard. I suppose that’s a given. From unrelenting bills to overwhelming thoughts, community tragedies to personal losses, hardship is as diverse as the people whom it afflicts.
Everyone suffers in a unique way. Some are bound together by common misfortunes, but only an individual can know what it’s truly like to be in their own shoes.
My struggles often lead me to the pit. I find myself there regularly, and I have become familiar with its darkness. But I have also encountered God in that valley.
In numerous places, Scripture speaks about the pit—the pit of sorrow, the pit of sin, the pit of shame. One time I may stumble into a pit of doubt or loneliness, other times of despair or self-pity. The truth remains the same for them all.
“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” – Psalm 103:2-5
“He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.” – Psalm 40:2
I look to these passages when I feel beat down, and I remember what God has done for me.
“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” – Galatians 2:20
“The Lord works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed.” – Psalm 103:6
“Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.” – Joshua 21:45
I know the promises of God to be not only true, but also reliable, whether or not they seem to be. What He has done before, He will do again, until everything is perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
God can—and will—rescue the righteous from trouble. If He saved us from the chasm of our sin, certainly He will save us from the pitfalls of life as we journey toward Heaven.
“He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son.” – Colossians 1:13
“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.” – 1 Peter 5:10
“Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of His glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.” – Jude 24-25
Abby
