The Pit

Lamentations 3:55–57 (HCSB)

      I called on Your name, Yahweh,

      from the depths of the Pit.

      You hear my plea:

      Do not ignore my cry for relief.

      You come near when I call on You;

      You say: "Do not be afraid."

 

His pit had a name. Notice he does not refer to it as “a pit” but as “the Pit.”

 

Do you have a pit with a name? Perhaps yours is “unemployment,” or “bad marriage,” or “cancer.” Whatever it is, your pit has a name.

 

What do you do in the Pit? Call on the name of the LORD.

 

“I do that.” The calling takes on a new meaning, a new intensity when you’re in the Pit. You cry out. It is not one of those “now I lay me down to sleep” kind of prayers. You cry out from the depths of your soul. You want God to hear you, to answer you, to attend to you. You cry out, “Lord, deliver me… help me!”

 

What does the Lord do? He comes near. There is something about your Pit that makes the Lord seem near.

 

And what does He say? “Don’t be afraid.” You will not perish in the Pit. The Lord has a purpose for you in the Pit.

 

Remember this:

•  You are there for the Lord’s purpose
  
• You are there for the Lord’s period
•  While there you have the Lord’s presence and power
• When He is done you’ll experience the Lord’s deliverance

 

The Pit is not your permanent address. It is only temporary. You will survive.