Up From the Pit

 I know I'm not alone.  Somehow, though, it sure feels like it.

Fear. Sadness. Isolation. Insecurity. Worthlessness. Insignificance. Dead weight. Burdensome.

Emotions hit me like a freight train.  I'm not always prepared - often lurking in the background are these thoughts and emotions - waiting for an opportune moment to cause derailment.

A pile up of over commitment.  A series of events that are emotionally challenging.  A comedy of errors.  Another's pain I add to my emotional load.

Many times it just seems to come from nowhere.  There it is. The Master Deceiver.

Someone right here, right now, knows just what I mean.


And the lies begin.....


Lies....all....lies.

Somehow, the lies become believable.

Voices from the pit, my husband reminds me.

The Pit of Despair.

The Pit of Despondency.

The Pit of Deception.

The Pit of Lies.


And, then - the amazing happens.

A kind word of encouragement; an offered prayer; a random hand extended; a listening ear.
He hears and blesses. He knows.
The truth explained through His Spirit and the written Word.


I am surprised by His Glory!

Confident because of Jesus. Joy of the Lord is my strength. He will never leave me nor forsake me. I am His child - created for His glory.  My burdens are light because He carries them.

He loved the so much that He gave it all - for me - for you.
The sufferings of the Pit turn to rejoicing in His glory - the Master of Truth.

I waited patiently for the LORD;

he inclined to me and heard my cry.

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.

Blessed is the man who makes

the LORD his trust,

who does not turn to the proud....

....You have multiplied, O LORD my God,

your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;

none can compare with you!

I will proclaim and tell of them,

yet they are more than can be told.

(see Psalm 40 for more of His Glory!)

"You don't have to sit outside in the dark.  If, however, you want to look at the stars, you will find the darkness necessary." Lesa Engelthaier


"The danger for most of us is that we desire feeling good more than we desire God." John Ortberg