He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps.
Psalm 40:2
Have you experienced a great loss in your life? Perhaps you’ve lost a parent or, what is worse for most people, a child. Maybe your marriage has ended in divorce or you lost a job that you hoped would take you to retirement. If living means anything, it means that all of us will experience at least one great loss in our lives.
When we do, our grief can become almost overwhelming. In fact, like King David in writing Psalm 40, you might feel like you are stuck in a “pit of despair” (v. 2 NLT). In this pit, we find feelings of sorrow, anger, bitterness, anxiety, fear, and loathing. Too many of us allow ourselves to get stuck in that pit and, when we do, we become overwhelmed and lose hope. Sadly, this is when many people either self-medicate with alcohol, drugs, or illicit sex – some go as far as ending their life. And yet, the Pit of Despair does not need to be the end for those of us who call on the name of Jesus Christ.
In fact, Psalm 40 provides us with great guidance on how to receive healing. First, we need to realize that healing is a process. Psalm 40:1 says, “I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry” (ESV) (emphasis added). God hears us when we are in pain and He loves to heal us when we are hurting. But we must be patient with Him. While God can heal us instantly and miraculously, there are times when He will use our pain to grow us so that we can become greater forces in His Kingdom.
The second truth we learn from Psalm 40 is that healing comes when we make God a priority. Verse 4 says, “Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie!” (ESV). While counselors, doctors, and friends can be a wonderful source of support, our ultimate source of healing is our Heavenly Father. Grief hurts so much because it touches our very soul. We need the Holy Spirit inside of us to remind us that, for God, nothing is impossible. Don’t reject the help of a good earthly counselor or doctor, but make sure to always receive our ultimate advisement from our Great Physician.
Finally, Psalm 40 teaches us that God will give us a new praise in the midst of our grief. Verse 3 says, “He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God…” (ESV). Part of the healing process is making peace with the fact that we can never go back. The loss of a loved one, for example, means that your story must now proceed without him or her in your life. This is why God gives you a new song. Suffering through a great loss will change our praise because we come to realize that God is great, not because He will undo the loss, but because He will give us the grace to continue living.
Have you experienced a great loss in your life? Do you feel like you are stuck in the Pit of Despair? Ask yourself the following questions:
- Have I made God my priority in this season of my life? Have I gone to Him in prayer and read His Word so much that I am saturated with His truth?
- Have I given God enough time to heal me? Have I waited on Him while I have sought counseling or wise advice from people who know Him?
- Am I open to the truth that God wants to give me a new song of praise or am I being insistent that He give me back my old song?
Remember that God gave up is only begotten Son so you and I could return to Him and have eternal life. He knows grief and can help you with your pain.
Published on Jan 06 @ 3:13 AM EDT
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By Loretta Shelton and Pastor Marlin Harris
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
2 Timothy 4:7
The Apostle Paul uses an illustration in 2 Timothy 4:7 reminiscent of competing in the Roman Olympic games in order to demonstrate the Christian believer’s life of faithfulness. He says, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
What is remarkable is that Paul makes these comments while imprisoned in a Roman jail knowing he is at the end of his life, and consequently at the end of his God-given mission. Throughout Paul’s Christian journey, he remained steadfast and loyal to his calling, despite the unimaginable obstacles and perils that he faced. Paul remained faithful to his ministry for the sake of Christ by fighting what he called “the good fight of faith” (2 Timothy 4:7). This means he maintained a godly character, lived by Biblical principles, and was unwavering in his faith and trust in God. This characterized Paul’s life regardless of the unpleasant circumstances that he was often attacked with. He did not rely on his past service, but he persevered and served God until crossing the finish line at the end of his ministry on earth.
Like the Apostle Paul, we must live this Christian life with the same convictions and fortitude as the athletes who were competing in the Roman games. Christians must run the race, fight the good fight, and endure hardships valiantly, in order to receive the prize of an incorruptible crown that never fades away. The qualifications required to receive this coveted prize are to run lawfully and diligently until we finish. Running this race means honoring God with our hearts and bodies, developing a character that looks more and more like Christ each day, and living a life that pleases our Father, and is worthy of the great redemption that we have been graced to receive. We must start, run, and then finish the race. We will finish, because no believer ever runs the race of his life alone. The Lord Jesus Christ runs with us, and He will get us to the finish line, if we stay the course and “finish well and finish strong”.
When you are running the race of life there are a few things you want to be sure to do. First of all, you must be spiritually prepared for the journey. This spiritual preparation is impossible without being filled with the Holy Spirit, for which there is no substitute. The scripture is clear that we are to be empowered by the Holy Spirit if we hope to accomplish anything in this life that brings glory to God. The Spirit of God empowers us with wisdom, strength, and godliness that causes the blessings of God to rest upon our journey. He alone conditions our hearts to endure the pain of the race, and to not turn back or give up before we reach the finish line.
Secondly, we must endure the necessary disciplines needed to prepare us for the rigor of the race we are to run. When runners prepare for lengthy marathons they will often spend months preparing themselves physically for that one race. They will attempt smaller races and work their legs and test their endurance with exercise regimens. They do this so that when they are in the ‘big’ race, they will have the strength to finish. Finishing our Christian race is more about the strength of our spirit than it is about the desire we may have in our hearts. Many people start out with Christ, and they desire greatly to finish, but they have not developed the spiritual strength to endure the trials and tests that befall them along their journey and they, sadly, fall away.
Jesus speaks about this reality in Matthew 13:1-9 when He shares the Parable of the Sower, where he outlines four different scenarios of seed-planting. One of his 4 scenarios involves a farmer who sowed his seeds in soil that was cluttered with rocks. He says that the soil received the seed quickly, but because the ground had not been tilled and prepared, the rocks were too numerous in the soil and made the soil depth shallow. Soon the seed died in the soil because there was no depth created by tilling. This is what happens to any of us who set out to run this Christian race, and we have not had the hard, stony rocks in our hearts, minds, and habits broken up and tilled away. Without the discipline of dedicated study of the Word of God, the daily practice of prayer, and regular worship and thanksgiving to God, we will not be able to break those hard rocks that have settled into our hearts and have made them resistant and impervious to the convictions and truths of the Word of God.
Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, every sincere believer must have an ardent and passionate desire to finish their race well. God placed that desire in your heart when you gave your hearts to the Lord Jesus Christ. The only way to satisfy that aching and longing in your soul to finish well is to daily discipline your life with the Spiritual practices of prayer, worship, and time in the Word. As you attend to the things of God, He will attend to the cares and desires of your heart. Let’s lay aside the weights and the many distractions, and run this race with all we have so that when we are finished, we will feel our Master’s embrace and hear him say, “Well done”.
PRAYER
Holy Father, we all have our own individual race to run. May You grant us the strength and the conviction to run our race well. Remove the hindrances from our path, and unchain our feet from the heavy weights and burdens that have weighed us down. Lord, grant us the freedom to run and not get weary, and to walk and not faint. In Jesus’ Strong Name, I pray. Amen.
SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINE
Spend today surveying your life to determine what are those weights and distractions that make it difficult for you to finish your race well. Consider those challenges, temptations, and tests that you are engaged in daily, and actively name them before the Lord, and make the decision to do whatever is necessary to lay them aside. Seek the Lord for His strength and lean upon the Holy Spirit for His guidance.
Published on Jan 31 @ 12:38 AM EDT
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Barbara Love
Truly I heard the Spirit speak to me through this passage ~ thank you
Posted on Wed, Jan 6, 2021 @ 5:41 AM CST
Sharon Lewis
Thank you for this timely message! I have such a challenging year starting with one of my daughters passing, my only other daughter receiving a kidney, followed by a car accident and many other challenges too numerous to share. But also finding that I was not that strong individual and succumbed to illness. Doing better today but your message is exactly what I needed this morning. Praise God for you
Posted on Wed, Jan 6, 2021 @ 7:51 AM CST
Contessa
Thank you so much for this devotion. Grief will hold you captive. My mother died a tragic death. I was so angry with the Lord, and I told him that I would not praise him until he told me why he took my Mom. This lasted a year. On the very day a year later I receive my response in a dream. The Lord told me that he loved my Mom and it was time for her to come home. He said that I am now Your Mom, Your Comfort, your strength and your Peace. Rest have faith in me that I will always do what is best for you and will never leave you or forsake you. The Lord kept me during that time!!! HALLELUJAH!!!!!! I'm now 67 and have never turned away from him since !!!!
Posted on Wed, Jan 6, 2021 @ 7:51 AM CST
Chandra Lemons
Thanks Pastor AC fir this powerful message!
Posted on Thu, Jan 7, 2021 @ 11:04 AM CST