June 5, 2018
I AM PERSUADED THAT HE IS ABLE:
TO BRING ME UP
PSALM 40:2 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.
The phrase “He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay…” means that God did not just notice what David was going through. It means that God did not just listen as David talked. It means that God did something about it! He got into the pit with David and he lifted David out.
You see, God brought David “UP”, and God brought David “OUT”.
I found this in my notes from college awhile back. I do not know who to give credit to for it, but it sure is humorous:
• If a legalist came by and saw a sinner in a pit, he would preach a sermon about the dangers of the pit.
• If a religionist came by and saw that same sinner in that pit, he would talk about steps the sinner could take to help him get out of that pit and avoid other pits in the future.
• If a pessimist walked by, he would tell that sinner that he is going to die in that pit.
• If an optimist passed by, he would tell the sinner that he had seen worse pits than that.
• If a realist walked by, he would tell that man to just accept his pit.
• If a spiritualist came by, he would tell the sinner that there is no pit.
You and I can be guilty of some of this, but when Jesus came by, He would get into the pit with that sinner and lift him out. It is interesting to note a few things about a “PIT”.
1. It is hard for people to see you when you are in a pit. There can be folks all around us that are in the pit spiritually, physically, or emotionally in their life and yet we do not notice. I have found in my life that I have been in the pit at different times and no one saw that I was in one. It can be lonely there, and you can begin to think that nobody cares about you. It is a comforting thing to know, however, that God sees us.
2. When you are in a pit, there’s no place to go but up. Once you and I get over feeling sorry for ourselves, we need to start drawing close to God to get out of the pit.
3. When you’re in a pit, you need someone to help you out. It’s difficult to get yourself out of the pit. We can fight and scrape and climb all we want to, but we need God’s help to get out. David said here that this pit was a “horrible” one. Probably the deepest pit he had ever been in. But David said that God brought him up and brought him out. I encourage you today, God can do the same for you.