When You're In A Pit

Transcription

1 Message for THE LORD'S DAY MORNING, July 27, 2014 Christian Hope Church of Christ, Plymouth, North Carolina by Reggie A. Braziel, Minister TOPIC: Christian Living When You're In A Pit Psalm 40:1-8 (NKJV) Please turn with me in your Bibles to the 40TH PSALM, and let's read VERSES 1-8. Psalm 40:1-8 (NKJV) 1 I waited patiently for the LORD; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry. 2 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. 3 He has put a new song in my mouth Praise to our God; Many will see it and fear, and will trust in the LORD. 4 Blessed is that man who makes the LORD his trust,and does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies. 5 Many, O LORD my God, are Your wonderful works which You have done; and Your thoughts toward us cannot be recounted to You in order; If I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered. 6 Sacrifice and offering You did not desire; my ears You have opened. burnt offering and sin offering You did not require. 7 Then I said, Behold, I come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me. 8 I delight to do Your will, O my God, and Your law is within my heart. P R A Y E R

2 I N T R O D U C T I O N The late Erma Bombeck became famous for her dry sense of humor. The title of one of her best selling books was If Life Is A Bowl of Cherries, What Am I Doing In The Pits? In many ways, that humorous book title was in reality a philosophical reflection of Erma Bombeck's personal life. At the age of 20 Erma was diagnosed withe poly-cystic kidney disease (an incurable, untreatable genetic disease. For many years Erma Bombeck endured daily dialysis. Later she was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a double mastectomy. Erma spent most of her adult life on a waiting list for a kidney transplant, and in those years of waiting one kidney had to be removed, the remaining kidney stopped functioning. Finally, on April 3, 1996 she received the long-awaited kidney transplant; but she just 19 days later, at the age of 69, Erma Bombeck died from complications of her kidney transplant surgery. Shortly before her death, Erma Bombeck said, When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, 'I used everything You gave me. ********************************************************************************* When Erma Bombeck's life was the pits she wrote a book; other people have written songs: Remember this classic song on HEE HAW, Gloom, Despair and Agony on Me. Or how about I'm Just A Bug on The Windshield of Life? Or, I I Bought The Boots That Just Walked Out On Me. Or how about this classic, The Next Time You Throw That Fryin' Pan, My Face Ain't Gonna Be There?

3 This 40 th Psalm is a song David wrote while he was IN THE PITS. This is one of the favorite Psalms of many Christians because it describes a common experience we have all been through in life. Who among us here this morning hasn't been in a pit or two at sometime or another? In fact, some of you here this morning may be in a pit right now. As we study these first few verses of this 40TH PSALM we are going to learn what to do When Life Is The Pits. ********************************************* First of all... I. When You're In The Pit, WAIT PATIENTLY FOR THE LORD Verse 1 a I waited patiently for the LORD. 1. David doesn't specifically tell us just what his pit was. He just tells us in verse 2 that it was a horrible pit and it was though he was stuck in miry clay. *David could have been referring to all those years he spent running for his life from King Saul who was out to kill him. *David could have been referring to that period in his life when his own son, Absalom tried to kill him and take the throne away from him.

4 *David could have been referring to his miserable home life. He had without a doubt the most dysfunctional family of all the men in the Old Testament. David's son, Amnon raped his own sister, Tamar. Then two years later, David's son Absalom arranged the murder of his brother Amnon for what he did to Tamar. 2. David's horrible pit could have been any one of these things. Likewise, our pits can be any one of a number of life's trials. *Your pit could be POOR HEALTH. *Your pit could be A DEAD END JOB or THE LOSS OF YOUR JOB. *Your pit could be A LOVELESS MARRIAGE or AN UN-FAITHFUL MATE. *Your pit could be A REBELLIOUS SON or DAUGHTER. *Your pit could be DEALING WITH A LOVED ONE WHO HAS AN ALCOHOL OR DRUG ADDICTION. 3. Regardless of what your pit may be, there are several truths about ALL PITS.

5 Truth #1: The Pit is a place of LONELINESS. Often when you're in a pit nobody even knows the struggles you are dealing with, and even if they do know they don't really understand what you are going through or how to help you. That just adds to the sense of loneliness. Truth #2: The Pit is a place of MISERY. There's no happiness or joy or peace when you're in a pit. In fact, when you look at the lives of other people and see how happy they seem to be, it just compounds your own misery. You find yourself obcessing over Why can't I be happy like other people? Truth #3: The Pit is a place of DESPAIR. When you are in a pit you have this over-whelming sense of hopelessness and helplessness. You feel like the walls of the pit are closing in around you. You feel as though you are going to be stuck in your pit the rest of your life and your situation is never going to get any better. 4. What can we do when we find ourselves trapped in a lonely...miserable... pit of despair? We must do what David did. verse 1 I waited patiently for the LORD; and He inclined to me and heard my cry.

6 5. David resisted the temptation to lean upon his own pride and figure out how to get himself out of his pit. He says in verse 4, Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust. 6. One of the hardest things for us to do when we are in a pit is to WAIT PATIENTLY FOR THE LORD. We have a tendency to believe when we have been in our pit for awhile and nothing has changed that it means GOD hasn't heard our cries from the pit. And thinking GOD doesn't even know we are in a pit we often take matters into our own hands and try to figure our own way out of the pit and what ends up happening is we dig the pit deeper and deeper and we get bogged down in the miry clay of our circumstances. 7. Brothers and sisters don't ever forget this: If you are in a pit, you can rest assured your Heavenly Father knows you in that pit. And if you will PATIENTLY WAIT FOR THE LORD He will eventually bring you up out of the horrible pit and set your feet upon a solid rock.

7 8. What does it mean to WAIT PATIENTLY FOR THE LORD? a. Waiting patiently for the LORD means to wait PRAYERFULLY. When we find ourselves in a pit one of the best things we can do is to PRAY. We must KEEP ASKING, KEEP SEEKING, and KEEP KNOCKING until the LORD answers our prayers. b. Waiting patiently for the LORD means to wait PRODUCTIVELY. One of the biggest temptations we face when we are in a pit is the temptation to shut down until our circumstances change. That is our pride saying, God I'm not going to do anything until you give me what I want. That doesn't work with GOD! In fact, GOD may leave us in the pit longer until our pride is broken. WAITING PATIENTLY FOR THE LORD means being useful and productive and fruitful in our current unpleasant circumstance until GOD lifts us out of the pit. When You Are In The Pit, WAIT PATIENTLY FOR THE LORD!

8 Secondly... II. When The Lord Lifts You Out of The Pit, PRAISE HIM AND PROCLAIM HIS GOODNESS verse 3 He has put a new song in my mouth----praise to our GOD; many will see it and fear, and will trust in the LORD. 1. David hammers this theme of PRAISE throughout this 40TH PSALM. v. 3 He has put a new song in my mouth, praise to our God. v. 4 Blessed is the man who makes the LORD his trust. v. 5 Many, O LORD my GOD, are Your wonderful works which You have done. v. 16 Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You. The LORD be magnified. v. 17 You are my Help and my Deliverer. 2. Why does David speak praise after praise to GOD? It is because David wants everyone to know it was GOD who got him out of THE PIT. David wanted everyone to know how helpless he was in THE PIT and he never could have rescued himself.

9 3. Think of all the times you and I have been in THE PITS OF LIFE. Think of all those times you have been a seemingly HOPELESS situation and GOD brought you through it! Think of all those times when you were read to GIVE UP and THROW IN THE TOWEL and GOD gave you the strength to go on! Think of all those times when your HEART WAS SO BROKEN and YOUR SPIRITS WERE SO CRUSHED you didn't think you could face another day, and GOD reached down in love and took you by the hand and lifted you up! 4. Oh brothers and sisters, if it weren't for GOD you and I would never get out of THE PITS! If it weren't for GOD you and I would be MIRED IN THE CLAY OF HOPELESSNESS and HELPLESSNESS ALL THE DAYS OF OUR LIFE! 5. IF IT WEREN'T FOR THE PITS OF LIFE, our faith would never grow, so PRAISE GOD AND PROCLAIM HIS GOODNESS!

10 C O N C L U S I O N One day two men were standing beside a lake when they heard someone splashing in the water and obviously about to drown. One of the men happened to be a trained life guard, but he stood style while the man flailed his arms in a panic. The other man said, You're a lifeguard, are you just going to stand here and watch that helpless man drown? He said, No, I am going to save him, but first I am going to let him exhaust all his strength, so when I swim out to him he won't fight against me and drown us both. Perhaps this morning you feel as though you are drowning in a pit of despair, and you are fighting and kicking and demanding that GOD rescue you from the pit right now. Maybe GOD is allowing you to remain in THE PIT until you stop fighting and kicking to get your will done, and you surrender completely to HIS WILL. I waited patiently for the LORD; and He inclined to me and heard my cry. 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.