“He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.”
Psalm 40:2
Before my stroke, my life was not unlike that of many people who dream and set goals. I had plans for family hiking trips in National Parks, the next ones being in Colorado and Utah. I intended to take my son on a rim-to-rim hike in the Grand Canyon and my wife on a South Texas birdwatching trip. I had personal goals of working better and more efficiently for my company. I anticipated several ways I’d give support to missionaries and ministries.
So when my stroke turned my life upside down, I felt like I’d been thrown into a pit like Joseph (Genesis 37:24) or Jeremiah (Jeremiah 38:1-6). I had become someone whom Charles Spurgeon described as “those who dive in the sea of affliction.”
A pit doesn’t seem like a place for plans, dreams, or goals. We resonate with the psalmists who say, “How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?” (13:1) and “Out of the depths I cry to you” (130:1). Thankfully, God does not leave us in the pit. He draws us to Him and helps us trust His good—though sometimes disheartening—plans for us.
So when my stroke turned my life upside down, I felt like I’d been thrown into a pit like Joseph (Genesis 37:24) or Jeremiah (Jeremiah 38:1-6). I had become someone whom Charles Spurgeon described as “those who dive in the sea of affliction.”
A pit doesn’t seem like a place for plans, dreams, or goals. We resonate with the psalmists who say, “How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?” (13:1) and “Out of the depths I cry to you” (130:1). Thankfully, God does not leave us in the pit. He draws us to Him and helps us trust His good—though sometimes disheartening—plans for us.
Scripture Focus
Psalm 40
Insight
“May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD, even as we put our hope in you.” (Psalm 33:22)
Bible In A Year
- 1 Kings 1
- Psalm 149
- 2 Timothy 1-2
