"Get Out Of The Pit"

"Then the king commanded Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from hence thirty men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he die." Jeremiah 38:10

Have you ever been in a pit? I am not talking about a literal, physical one like Jeremiah was thrown into by his accusers and enemies. I am talking about a pit that the "accuser" and "enemy" of our soul tries to throw us into. It is the pit of despair, the pit of discouragement, the pit of fear, anger, bitterness, addiction, grief or the pit of regret and condemnation.

A pit is a place of death, not life. The men in the scripture went to the king asking to take Jeremiah out of the pit because they knew he would die if he stayed there too long. He would die for lack of food and water. (verse 9). When we are in the pits that I described above, we are in a place of death-- a slow death. Life is being pulled out of us and we aren't aware of it until death begins to take a hold of us. Many times, people have been in the pit for so long that it begins to feel natural, and they start settling in as if it is their home. They don't even realize that their life is slipping away from them.

Because Jesus is Life and the pit is a place of death, He has come to set the captive free-- free from the pit, free from death. If you are in a pit, whether you have been in it for a long time or have just gone into it, Jesus is offering you a way out. He is stretching out His hand to you- like He did Peter when he was drowning. His hand is not short that it cannot save. He can pull you out regardless of how long you have been in it. He can, and desires to, pull you out and give you freedom from the pit and put you in a place of abundant life. He is reaching out to you this morning; will you grab a hold of His hand.

Have a great day. The pit is a place of death, but Jesus is reaching into the pit to lift you out and give you life.

For further reading:

Isaiah 59:1
Psalm 40:2
John 10:10
Luke 4:18