Pit Praise

Life is tough.
Medical crisis.
Marriage destruction.
Money woes.
Relationships.
Work stress.
Fears.
Hurts.
Deception.
The list goes on and on.
So much stuff.
Stuff that often pushes us over the edge and into the pit.

And here it is where there is a progression of three pit pictures.
Put this in your mind's eye ~

The pit was deep. Walls of dirt stretched high above her head. She stood at the bottom, with her arms reaching up as far as they could, her face upturned and tear-streaked. Her feet planted in the dirt, she cried out in desperation for help; to be pulled up and out of the pit. Her posture never changed; her heart became emptied of hope and increasingly filled with frustration. Questions flew out of her mouth.
Why?
How much longer?
Where are You in this?

After dwelling in this pit for a period of time, her arms became tired, her heart became weathered. She was done-in.

And the pit picture changed.
There was now a couch. She sat there with her feet propped up on a coffee table. The newspaper was in her hands, and a hot drink sat in a mug on the table. A picture of comfort. Of rest.
Even in the pit.
Questions received no answers.
Yet, she could sit in stillness and find relief from her outcry.

While in the quiet, the picture in the pit transformed again.
Now, off the couch, she was positioned on the dirt floor. Down on her knees, arms outstretched, face down, forehead on the ground. A vulnerable place, down in the dirt. A place of emptying herself of all she had left. A place of sacrifice, for that's what it was.
Giving it all up.
Surrender.

And meeting her questioning heart were the words,

"Praise Me in the pit."

Her heart stumbled for a moment, over the ramifications of such an act.
Praise Him in the pit.
With dirt on her knees.
With hurt in her heart.
With doubt in her mind.
With defeat in her soul.

And God said,
"Praise Me in the pit."

For if any posture speaks surrender, it is on the knees.
If any position speaks sacrifice it is bowed down in the hard dirt.
If any fight is won, it is on the battlefield in the pit.

Even though her heart was broken ~ praise.
Even though her hurt was devastating ~ praise.
Even though her mind was whirling with worries ~ praise.
Even though her life was a mess ~ praise.
Even though people disappointed and deceived ~ praise.

For the Father of the "even-thoughs" meets us in the pit. And our praise in the pit shifts the atmosphere of our even-though moments.

Life is tough.
A friend of mine recently shared her struggles with her faith verses her fears.
Another recently shared her pain of a broken marriage.
And a few of my friends are facing serious illness with beloved family members.
That list.
It is tough to navigate.
But even though, there is a way in the trial, there is a peace in the battle.

Pit praise.
It manifests in the dirty, dark, desperate place of the pit.

And that is where hope whispers.


"Even though the fig trees have no blossoms and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation! The Sovereign Lord is my strength!" (Habbakuk 3:17-19, NLT)