If you know me at all, you know I love Beth Moore. She wrote a great book called, Get Out of That Pit: Straight Talk about God's Deliverance. It is a great book. But when I lead the service at the jail I don't have time to read them an entire book. The last time I taught I felt like this was a lesson they really needed to hear though as it meant a lot to me. So I condensed the book into one session with my thoughts and verses I thought were important. So if you aren't a big reader, here is my condensed version. (all verses are from the NLT)
Psalm 40:1-3 "I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God."
Pits don't always mean you are in a stronghold of sin.
IDENTIFY THE PITS
"You feel stuck."
Isaiah 42:18-23 "Oh, how deaf and blind you are toward me! Why won't you listen? Why do you refuse to see? Who in all the world is as blind as my own people, my servant? Who is as deaf as my messengers? Who is blind as my chosen people, the servant of the Lord? You see and understand what is right but refuse to act on it. You hear, but you don't really listen. The Lord has magnified his law and made it truly glorious. Through it he had planned to show the world that he is righteous. But what a sight his people are, for they have been robbed, enslaved, imprisoned, and trapped. They are fair game for all and have no one to protect them. Will not even one of you apply these lessons from the past and see the ruin that awaits you?"
No matter what you do, say or try, you can't seem to get yourself out. We often give up at this point.
Jeremiah 38:6 "So the official took Jeremiah from his cell and lowered him by ropes into an empty cistern in the prison yard. It belonged to Malkijah, a member of the royal family. There was no water in the cistern, but there was a thick later of mud at the bottom, and Jeremiah sank down into it."
I remember during the "Flood of 1994" in Albany, Georgia, my brothers and I rode over to Lake Blackshear. This once huge lake was empty in the aftermath of destruction. One of my brothers, with some egging on by his older siblings (that would include me), decided to see how far into the middle of the lake he could walk. He didn't get far before he sank into a mud pit. The more he pushed to get out, the more he sunk. Before long he was in it about to his waist and both arms up past his elbows from where he tried to push himself out. We ended up pulling him out, but on his own, he was totally stuck. At some point in our pit though, we realize that we don't have to stay there.
"You can't stand up."
Psalm 69:1-3 "Save me, O God, for the flood waters are up to my neck. Deeper and deeper I sink into the mire; I can't find a foothold to stand on. I am in deep water, and the floods overwhelm me. I am exhausted from crying for help; my throat is parched and dry. My eyes are swollen with weeping, waiting for my God to help me."
We fight a spiritual battle with a real enemy. If we want to be victorious we have to stand.
Ephesians 6:11-13 "Put on all of God's armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies and tricks of the Devil. For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms. Use every piece of God's armor to resist the enemy int he time of evil, so that after the battle you will still be standing firm."
Psalm 40:2b "He set my feet upon a rock and gave me a firm place to stand."
Satan knows that if you are in his pit, you will feel powerless to stand up to him.
"You've lost vision."
Pits tend to be windowless and dark. Without windows we get convinced we have no where else to go. After a while we feel too buried in our present state to feel passionate about a promised future.
Ephesians 1:18 "I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the wonderful future he has promised to those he called. I want you to realize what a rich and glorious inheritance he has given to his people."
HOW DO YOU GET INTO A PIT?
1. You are thrown in.
Genesis 37:23, 24 "So when Joseph arrived, they pulled off his beautiful robe and threw him into the pit. This pit was normally used to store water, but it was empty at the time."
You can be thrown in by tragedy, by violent crime, by life threatening disease, by financial loss, by rejection, etc, etc.
2. You slip into a pit.
This pit we put ourselves into - only we didn't mean to. You want to blame someone else, but you can't. Insanity comes into play when we repeat the same actions, expecting something new, but the results are always the same. Examples:
You were just going to watch your weight - yet you ended up with an eating disorder.
You meant to only borrow the money - yet ended up bankrupt.
You only meant to get some pain relief - yet ended up addicted to pain medication.
You only meant to have some romance - yet you ended up falling in bed with him.
Psalm 94:18-19 "I cried out, 'I'm slipping!' and your unfailing love, O Lord, supported me. When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer."
3. You jump into a pit.
You know what you are about to do is wrong, but the desire outweighs common sense and you take the plunge. But sometimes the pit turns out deeper and the consequences higher than you ever thought. Makes me think of the current headline news in Atlanta, where the 26 yr old lady drove drunk and killed the Governor's intern. She chose to drink, but never in a million years did she really think that right now she would be sitting in jail on DUI and murder charges.
Psalm 19:13 "Keep me from deliberate sins! Don't let them control me. Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin."
We deliberately sin, yet still blame God.. We can't blame Him for our choices.
James 1:13-16 "And remember, no one who wants to do wrong should ever say, 'God is tempting me.' God is never tempted to do wrong, and he never tempts anyone else either. Temptation comes from the lure of our own evil desires. These evil desires lead to evil actions, and evil actions lead to death. So don't be misled, my dear brothers and sisters."
THREE STEPS OUT OF THE PIT
1. Cry out.
(Ps. 106:44,45; Ps. 9:9,12; Ps. 116:1-2; Ps. 3:4)
2. Confess.
I John 1:8-9 "Let the light of God shine all over your sin so the two of you can sort it out and He can heal you."
3. Consent.
God's will IS for you to get out.
I John 5:14-15 "And we can be confident that he will listen to us whenever we ask him for anything in line with his will. And if we know he is listening when we make our requests, we can be sure that he will give us what we ask for."
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