The Pit Saga continues…Last week we talked about CRYING OUT TO GOD if you find yourself in a deep pit.
So maybe you’ve been calling out to God this past week and are wondering…now what?
We would all like to get rid of our strongholds instantaneously. However, according to the Bible God’s ways are higher than ours and sometimes His answers are different than what we anticipated.
You might not be zapped out of your pit instantaneously, but rather find yourself staring at a life line dangling just above your head.
When we’re finally ready to give up our “I can fix this” attitude and lay down our pride by crying out to God, He will show us a way out of the pit. It might very well come in the form of what I like to call a “life line”. God’s life line to hoist us out of the pit!
The problem comes when we refuse to take the line..
Let me give you an example from my life these past months:
I have been exercising consistently for the most part of 2009. Exercise is very difficult for me. I don’t like it. However, I’ve come to realize that it is CRUCIAL in staying out of the pit of food addiction. If I exercise I stay in touch with my body (not detach like I used to in the past). I make better food choices and I enjoy life so much more. So although I know that I need to do it, I always find myself bargaining and compromising in this area.
So since October last year, I’ve been bargaining. I didn’t want to go to the gym in the mornings anymore. Too cold and too early. I started making my own “plans”. I would do it later in the day, at home, on my treadmill. Better yet; late at night when the kids are in bed. Things started to unravel fast. My old secondhand treadmill broke. I searched high and low on the internet for a cheap, used treadmill. This one broke too after a few weeks. This time I turned to Plan B: Going to the gym at night. I was determine, but somehow there was always something going on in the evenings, and before I knew it…no exercise at all!
By the beginning of December I was only exercising sporadically and without any enthusiasm. I felt stuck! After another wasted month I finally CRIED OUT TO GOD! While doing my Bible Study one morning I saw the life line dangling right in front of my eyes: I had to go back to the gym at 6 in the morning! I didn’t want to. I refused. This could not possibly be the answer. I walked circles around the “life line” for a few days. Finally I stopped my stubbornness, laid down my rebellion, and grabbed a hold of the line.
What happened? You know it, God hoisted me up, out of that pit! It didn’t even take long. The first morning that I dragged myself out of bed and pushed through the self pity and the enemy’s attacks, I felt peace and joy flood back into my life. Just like that!
Now I don’t mean to oversimplify the process. Your life line might be dangling a bit higher than mine and it might take all of your strength to grab a hold of it, but please do! God is not going to force you. He gives us a way of escape according to the Bible, but it’s our job to take it!
What is God telling you to do today that will get you out of your pit?
Maybe the answer to getting out of your pit is also right in front of you. Is there someone you should call, someone you should forgive, something you should start, or something you should end? Should you go out and buy that Bible study or join that women’s group? Maybe you should enroll for that class or sign up for that missions trip. Maybe you should just stop running, sit down, and talk to the Lover of your soul…
Only God knows exactly what will get you out of your pit. He might use a friend, pastor, counselor, or spouse to speak to you. He might speak to you directly through His Word and the Holy Spirit. All you have to do is CALL OUT to Him, then wait and listen. Look for answers in Scripture, in counsel, and in your heart.
Most importantly: When the life line is dangling in front of you. GRAB IT! Obedience is not an easy thing (just ask your kids:) However, it’s always worth it!
Obedience strengthens our love for God and it brings joy back into our lives
It’s in the Bible:
John 15: 10 – 11:
If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
The greatest command according to the Bible is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. Second to it; love your neighbor as yourself. (Mark 12:28-31) So the things God asks you to do to get out of that pit will always line up with His Word and these important commands. Test it against Scripture and then DO IT!!
Grab that life line, you can do it girl!
Love, Heleen
Resources for you
Click on the image below to learn more about the 12 Week Online Program: Women Struggling with Food
Read my story. Click on the image below to download my ebook: God will I ever be free?
Appetite for Freedom WORKBOOK and DVD. Great resource for small groups or for individual use.
Click on the image below to find out more
Thanks for the above post , as always it’s insightful and God sent. With regard to exercise, I like the results but I Don’t like the effort of going to the gym. I’ve not been able to exercise much in the last 6 months because of a shoulder injury. However, now it’s healed , I had the chance to get back into the gym while my mother was visiting for a month as she was able to look after my preschooler. But next week she’ll be gone and although don’t have to get up at 6am, getting to the gym for 9am, and putting a daughter who doesn’t get up until 8.30 am, dressed and left at the gym’s daycare- will need every bit of prayer I can muster since neither of us are morning people! However, God gave me the oppertunity to get back into the gym and now I have to take that blessing and use it by continuing to go – dispite someinitial discomfort (a tearful screaming child and maybe a tearful screaming mother) if it makes me a better mom, because it helps to control my eating, then thank God for small mercies. 🙂