Have you ever been stuck in the mud? Recently, a 79-year-old New Hampshire man found himself stuck in mud up to his neck while duck hunting. The man had waded through a swamp, which was only two to three feet deep, not realizing that the bottom of the swamp was coated in thick mud. He soon found himself hopelessly stuck in the mud, and the more he struggled to get himself out, the deeper he sank in the mud. He remained stuck there for 33 hours until rescuers found him and managed to lift him out of the mud and onto dry land.
While most of us probably have never been stuck in the mud like that unfortunate duck hunter, there are times in our lives when a dilemma in which we find ourselves makes us feel like we are stuck in a “pit of mud.” Sometimes, we end up in those dilemmas, those “pits of mud,” through no fault of our own. For example, a financial “pit of mud” may have been caused by a job layoff or the loss of income due to an accident or serious illness. But there can also be times when we end up in that “pit of mud” due to our own wrong behavior, such as marital problems caused by indiscretions or addiction to pornography. But no matter what dilemma we face, no matter how deep we find ourselves in a “pit of mud,” there is a way out.
The way out of a “pit of mud” cannot be accomplished through our own strength. The duck hunter in New Hampshire tried to free himself from the mud by using his own strength. But the more he tried to free himself, the deeper into the mud he went. On our own, we are likely to become more embedded in the dilemma we face. Our struggle to set ourselves free will often lead to us sinking deeper into the pit. The duck hunter needed the help of rescuers to be freed from that muddy swamp. And we need God to free us from dilemmas that drag us down deeper into the pit.
In Psalm 40, David told of being freed from a pit by God. In verse 2 (NLT), he wrote, “He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along.” David was freed from his dilemma by God. God lifted David from the pit of despair, pulled him out of the mud, and set his feet on solid ground again. God can do the same for us when we, like David, wait patiently on the Lord, bring our dilemmas to Him and wait for Him to see us through them rather than futilely struggling through them on our own. As David wrote in verse 1 of that psalm, when we wait patiently on the Lord, He will turn to us and hear our cry.
If you find yourself stuck in a “pit of mud,” turn to God, lift your voice to Him and wait patiently as He hears your cry and lifts you out of that pit. After lifting David out of his “pit of mud,” God gave David a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to God. The result was that many saw what God had done for David and put their trust in God (Psalm 40:3). When God lifts us from our “pits of mud,” we need to sing that new song, we need to tell others of what God has done for us. Our testimonies can be what brings others to come to the Lord, to put their faith and their trust in Him.
A Worshiper's Journal 