“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
Multiple news agencies reported on a story of a man in New York City who fell through the sidewalk into a pit full of rats in October of 2020. Yuck! He fell 12-15 feet and was trapped. What a gross and desperate situation. The man who fell into the pit just went to catch a bus and instead fell through the sidewalk because it gave out under his feet. He laid there in the cold dark space surrounded by rats. Fortunately, bystanders observed his fall and firefighters were able to rescue the man out of a desperate and disgusting situation.
I thank God that has never happened to me. Not literally at least. But in a similar sense, we can find ourselves “in a pit” spiritually. Maybe like this man, it happened upon us. Maybe we jumped in and foolishly landed in the situation by our own choosing. Maybe we were walking a careless and unstable path to begin with.
David writes in Psalm 40 “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.” He further writes in verses 11-13, “Lord, don’t hold back Your tender mercies from me. Let Your unfailing love and faithfulness always protect me. For troubles surround me—too many to count! My sins pile up so high. I can’t see my way out. They outnumber the hairs on my head. I have lost all courage. Please, Lord, rescue me! Come quickly, Lord, and help me.”
David found himself in a spiritual pit that was desperate, disturbing, and disgusting. His feet were not on solid ground. He was walking a path of sin until suddenly He realized His sins had piled so high that He could no longer see or get out. Yet the Lord was there to rescue David. He took him out of the pit, forgave him, and reminded David to walk in His stable paths of righteousness.
Because of our sin, we can all find ourselves in a pit - stuck, weighed down, unable to see or get out. Turn to the Lord. He can lift you out of a pit that you could never get out of on your own. Call out to Jesus. Trust in Him. He will lift you up, heal you, and set your feet on solid ground.