The PIT OF DESPAIR


Remember in the movie The Princess Bride, when Wesley was strapped to a table and he asked, "where am I?"  And then the odd looking man guarding him answered, "The Pit of Despair!"  

Well, sometimes I think about that moment when I feel like I am in the pit - the walls are closing in, and things are looking bad...

But I also think about the story of Joseph.  

If you don't know the story, check out Genesis 37-41, but to recap - at the time of his birth, Joseph was one of 11 boys born to a man named Jacob.  However, because his mother was Jacob's favorite wife, Joseph became Jacob's favorite son.

At 17 years old, Joseph was also a prophet (a fact his family did not know).  God talked to Joseph through dreams and Jacob shared these dreams with his family.  Since the dreams all referenced things that had not happened and seemed impossible - they made Joseph's brothers even more angry, and they despised him.

But the final straw came after Jacob gave Joseph a beautiful ornamental coat.  

One day, when the 10 of them were off tending to sheep - Jacob sent Joseph off to find and report on his brothers.  When the brothers saw him coming they made plans to kill him.  "They said to one another, 'Look, here comes the hero of those dreams!  Let's kill him and throw him into a pit and say that some wild animal ate him.  Then we'll see what happens to those dreams." (Genesis 37:19-20).

However, after the oldest brother, Reuben, urged the brothers not to kill Joseph but rather just to leave him in the pit, a group of merchants came passing by.  Then, for 20 pieces of silver - the brothers sold Joseph into slavery.

As a slave Joseph ended up working for a man named Potiphar whose wife thought young Joseph was quite a stud.  And, after he refused to sleep with her, she made up a story that got Joseph thrown into prison. At this point - if I was Joseph, I'd be thinking that God had certainly turned His back on me - but in the end - that was not the case at all!

You see, in prison Joseph interpreted some dreams of fellow prisoners correctly, and that led him to be called to interpret a dream for Pharaoh.  Then that leads to him being put in charge (second only to Pharaoh himself).  Then, as the one in charge, he was able to save the country and his family from famine.

It is easy to feel as if God is not with us when are "in the pit"...but the fact of the matter is - God often USES the pit as the "vehicle" that will help get us to the place He wants us.

"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 the 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.  Many will see what he has done and be amazed.  They will put their trust in the Lord." (Psalm 40:1-3)

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Petition for Prayers

Image
Hi there - today is my 400th post and I am wrestling a bit... so I'm asking for your prayers. I started this blog o ver a year ago, convinced it was something God wanted me to do.  It was way out of my comfort zone, and certainly not something I’d have done 10 years before, but  I had hoped that i n some way, it might help people get closer to Him. I knew that once I had finally given my life to God, EVERYTHING in my life changed, and  I desperately wanted people to experience the same JOY and PEACE I have felt since making that decision.   As they say, “I was like a poor beggar telling others where they could find food”. For months, the posts flowed easily and I would feel the Holy Spirit's inspiration…the words on the page practically writing themselves.  However, I'm not sure that is still the case.  Sometimes I feel as if I am struggling to hear His voice, and I honestly don't want to be writing MY thoughts - I want to be sharing HIS. So, I'm going to t...
Read more

The Journey to the Cross (Day 4 - THE LADDER)

Image
In the city of Jerusalem stands a church called  The Church of the Holy Sepulcher.   It has been proposed as the place of both the death and resurrection of Jesus, and it has been a place for pilgrimages since the 4th century. Considered holy, the site is cared for by no less than six denominations including Greek Orthodox, Armenian Apostolic, Roman Catholic, Coptic, Ethiopian and Syriac Orthodox.  As such, it has been carefully parsed out into sections.  And sadly, arguments and violent clashes are not uncommon. Jim visited the church once on a trip with Northridge and told me about "The Immovable Ladder".  Apparently the ladder is a " bizzare outcome of religious stubbornness pushed to extremes. " For " Sometime in the first half of the 18th century, someone placed a ladder up against the wall of the church. No one is sure who he was, or more importantly, to which sect he belonged.  The ladder remains there to this day.  No one dares touch it, l...
Read more

The Journey to the Cross (Day 3 - ONLY JESUS)

Image
Today’s Holy Week post has me thinking about the 12 disciples. ONLY JESUS Can you name Jesus' 12 disciples?  If you've been watching The Chosen or reading your Bible regularly, you might be able to.  However - there are some, who - at least for me, are a bit in the shadows. Sure I know Simon/Peter, and his brother Andrew .  And then there was James and John, the sons of Thunder (or Zebedee to be exact).  There was Matthew, and Thomas, and Judas Iscariot.  And there was Simon the Zealot, and another James...but...but...a nd here is where my mind isn't as good at remembering.   So I Googled it. There was also Philip - a Jewish man from Bethsaida who apparently was the one to tell Nathaniel (another lesser known disciple) that "The One" Moses and the prophets had foretold in the Old Testament, was here.  Following Jesus' death Philip became a missionary in Greece and for his outspoken faith proclaiming Jesus as the Son of God - Philip was stoned and...
Read more