07 May Out of the Pit

Lately, I haven’t been the most fun or pleasant person to be around. I feel like I’m in a pit of darkness, yet I know I don’t want to stay there and I want to get out of the pit.

It all started when my world got flipped upside down when my sweet, sweet, sweet Kai monkey passed away. In addition, as each month goes on, I’m reminded that I am still not pregnant. And then my co-worker lost her future son-in-law. My heart continued to break.

Darkness seemed to surround me everywhere. But, I knew I didn’t want to stay in the middle of it.

After listening to this sermon, I knew I couldn’t stay focused on the darkness. Yes, I am grieving. Yes, it is healthy to grieve. But, it’s not healthy to focus on the evil of this world. When my co-worker received the call from her daughter, immediately John 16:33 popped into my head, “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” I don’t want to focus on the tribulation, I want to have courage and focus on the fact that Jesus has overcome all tribulation.

The reality is that the suffering isn’t over. It will continue until Jesus comes back or I’ve gone to be with Him. Until then, I know I have two options: run away from Him and seek darkness or turn to Him and seek light. Option 1 will land me in a bigger pit of darkness so I am choosing option 2.

I usually turn my bible to the Psalms when feeling overcome. Psalm 150 is the closing hymn in the book of Psalms. It’s a hymn of praise.

Psalm 150 – The Message
Praise God in his holy house of worship,
    praise him under the open skies;
Praise him for his acts of power,
    praise him for his magnificent greatness;
Praise with a blast on the trumpet,
    praise by strumming soft strings;
Praise him with castanets and dance,
    praise him with banjo and flute;
Praise him with cymbals and a big bass drum,
    praise him with fiddles and mandolin.
Let every living, breathing creature praise God!
    Hallelujah!

What a powerful hymn to end the book of Psalms. The message is so straight forward – we are told to praise God. It tells us to praise:

• Where? Everywhere
• Why? Not only for what He has done, but for who He is
• How? With our voices
• Who? Everyone

What is the purpose of praise? It vocalizes our compliments to God. Praising God during the trials is something I have written about frequently on this blog. Back in February, I wrote a post about how praise unlocks the the key to what you are believing for. When we thank God, it brings dead stuff to life. We go deeper with the Lord. It leaves no room for fear or darkness. Our attention moves from our own problems and focuses on our blessings from Him. Instead of saying ‘poor me’ it shifts to ‘I am so blessed’.

Instead of living in darkness and focusing on this evil world I feel surrounded in, I am choosing to focus on praising God. He has set me free. Delivered me. Healed me. Snapped all my chains. Crushed all my walls. Gone before me. He stands beside me and I can live victoriously because of what He has already done.

I don’t know what today holds. But, what I do know is even though my natural circumstances don’t seem too praiseworthy lately, I’m pressing forward with thanking Him for everything, including the trials. Even though I am grieving, I will be seeking Him, the light of this world, at the same time.

He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. Psalm 40:2