Living His WordSample

It’s not easy to get out of a slimy pit. The floor is mud and mire, and the walls are wet and slippery. Any attempt to climb out on your own is pretty much doomed to failure. What’s needed is some help from above. What’s needed is someone to lift you out.

The “slimy pit,” of course, is King David’s metaphor for any place in life that you desperately need to escape, but can’t seem to do so on your own. It’s the exact opposite of having your feet on a rock. Having your “feet on a rock” is David’s metaphor for a place of security and soundness. It’s a place you never want to leave, rather than a place you try to escape. It’s a firm foundation upon which you can build your life.

If you find yourself stuck in a slimy pit today, with every solid rock out of reach, then do what David did. Cry out to the Lord and wait patiently for Him. By crying out, you acknowledge that human striving and effort gets you nowhere and only the Lord can help. By waiting patiently, you acknowledge that it is the Lord’s privilege to determine the timing of the rescue. When it finally comes, David tells us, you will discover that there is a hymn of praise to God in your mouth, and that many in similar trouble will be encouraged to do what you did.