Rock of Ages, Cleft for me

I called on Your name, O Lord, Out of the lowest pit. You have heard my voice…

O Lord, You have seen my oppression.

Great is Thy faithfulness.

Who is among you who [reverently] fears the Lord, who obeys the voice of His Servant, yet who walks in darkness and deep trouble and has no shining splendor [in his heart]? Let him rely on, trust in, and be confident in the name of the Lord, and let him lean upon and be supported by his God.

Lamentations 3 selected verses NASB   Isaiah 50:10 AMP

Jeremiah, the prophet, begins this section of Scripture by “crying out from the lowest pit” and ends by boldly declaring, “Great is Your faithfulness.” He said this, when as yet, his circumstances remained lowest-pitish. If we step back further into this book of lamenting, we see that he came near to the brink of hopelessness – often. So how did Jeremiah go from despair, to declaring God’s faithfulness? Did he watch a master-class on living an overcoming life?  No, this real-life man, known as the weeping prophet had a relationship with the One True God and had learned to lean into that relationship, to trust the Lord God, in spite of all that was wrong and difficult and heavy in his life. His circumstances did not dictate his faith or view of God.

Let’s be real.  Sometimes circumstances don’t change. Sometimes our “lowest pit” remains. The truth is, there will be seasons of no “shining splendor” in our hearts, but instead, darkness and deep trouble. Even for those who “reverently fear the Lord and obey His voice.” Our “lowest pits” may be canyon-deep crises that threaten to send us over an emotional cliff, like an unfaithful spouse or a rebellious teenager, an unexpected illness or the death of someone we love. A pit may be the day-to-day challenges of life that come like a steady and sustained drip of difficulty, wrapped in the form of a dead-end job, disappointment with life or struggling to make ends meet. If you’re breathing, I know you have a lowest-pit of your own that’s coming to mind.

It’s one thing to trust God for a particular outcome, but another thing all together, when we learn to trust Him no matter the outcome. Period.

To simply trust Him.

You will never learn faith in comfortable surroundings.  

01/04 Streams in the Desert

The Lord has literally kneaded these truths into my heart, maybe He’s done the same for you. Through the death of two of my children. Through the, not-enough-money–for-the-month life as a teenage mom, to heart wrenching betrayal. And even the ache of regret from my own past mistakes.  I have found that though the difficulties were seldom removed, when I leaned into God, He provided the ability to stand. To walk through. And I came out with this truth on my lips – Great is His faithfulness. Lean hard into that truth dear one, He will not fail you.

Father, I.  Trust. You. it’s so much easier to say the words than to walk it out, Lord. Help me trust You in spite of the pain, and in the midst of all that appears wrong… with disappointments, with crises that overwhelm or monotony or the fear of what if… I choose to lean hard into You, Father. You are worthy of my trust. In Jesus’ name, Amen

 Written by Becky White for the Lord Jesus

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