Out of the Miry bog....

Out of the Miry Bog…

(Written by Pam Spencer, May 18, 2020©)

Psalm 40

Verses 1-3

“I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined His ear to me, and heard my cry.

He lifted me out of the horrible pit, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps.

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.

Verse 8

I delight to do Your will, O my God; and Your law is written within my heart.

Verses 11-13

Do not withhold Your tender mercies from me, O Lord; Your lovingkindness and Your truth continually preserve me. For innumerable evils have surrounded me;

My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of my head; therefore, my heart fails me.

Be pleased O Lord, to deliver me; O Lord, make haste to help me!

Verse 16

Let all those who seek You rejoice and be glad in You; let such as love Your salvation say continually, the Lord be magnified!”

The pit of despair resounds in your head and your heart. 

You ask yourself again and again: “How can I possibly get up out of this “miry bog?”

What will lift this fog?  It plagues me day and night and I ask myself, should I stay or should I go?  A hundred times a day…..

One heavy disappointment jolts me, but years of the same disappointment???  Surely God would not want me to live this way….

Let’s look at the definition of some of these feelings….

Despair is to lose all hope, an utter lack of hope or that which destroys all hope….dashed hopes, desperation, forlorn hope…..hopelessness.  When have you felt this way?  Dashed hopes??? An utter lack of hope?  Not possible!  Oh yes, there is a situation that is causing me to lose all hope.  How could this possibly happen?  One instance at a time. 

One disappointment at a time.  And, when this disappointment comes repeatedly, year after year, well, it rips you apart….it makes you feel unloved and not cared for….your heart is stuck in that miry bog.

Then, looking at the word disappoint – it means to fail to satisfy the hope, desire, or expectation of….to thwart.  And more so is disappointment:  the act of disappointing, the condition or feeling of being disappointed.  UGH.  Failing to satisfy the hope, the expectation.  Thwarting all possibility of changing the situation?  Could it really be that there is NO hope?  That this feeling of hopelessness will not go away?

One more layer to consider:  Mire is a bog, a deep, slimy soil of mud, to cause to sink or become stuck in mud.  So, then you find yourself in this miry. murky, muddy, slimy pit.  There seems to be no way out.  It is almost as if you are sitting at the bottom of a well, like a cistern as they had in the first century.  There is no rope to climb up and no one standing at the top peering down at you and saying:  “I’m here!  Hold on!!!”

There are people hurting this badly….this desperately.  The despair is deep.  The miry bog is real.  The feeling of helplessness compounds the issue and brings a person down to the bottom of the pit.

When you know a person or dear friend who feels this way, what is your response?  What can one do to help?  How can someone diffuse the situation when their disappointment has been carving this rut for years???  What advice can be offered?  What resolution can be found? 

Open communication has to occur.  Understanding at a very deep level must start to immerge.  Awareness has to come to the surface.  The mud must be cleaned off.  The slim needs to be dissolved.  Resolution must become the expanse on which to stand.  No more hiding the hurt.  No more sweeping the problem under the rug.  No more patiently hope for a change.  The volcano from unresolved anger must be addressed.

So, how does that happen?  Where to begin?  Falling on your knees in prayer is a beginning.  Even if you have prayed for YEARS to no avail, do not stop praying!  God is listening.  He hears you.  He sees you.  Do NOT give up hope!

HOPE!!!  Ahhhhh, yes!  There is a GOD of hope that is hovering…..waiting to hear your prayer again…..longing to fill that desperation, that hopelessness and heal that disappointment, bitterness and anger.  Longing to allow HIM to resolve the situation.

Romans 15:13 says: “Now may the God of hope, fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

We have a God who cares.  We have a God who wants healing.  Even if we are at the point of NO return, we have a God who can restore.  Yes, I said restore.

It is NOT an easy task.  It is NOT an easy fix.  It will take work and hard work at that.  It will take humility.  It will take trust.  It will take time. 

But this God of hope WILL restore you.  He will lift you up out of the miry bog.  He will bring you peace.  And, yes, He will bring you joy!

Trust Him.  Turn it all over to Him.  Again.  And, again.

Be open, be honest, be direct.  Allow the flood waters of healing to wash over you.  Allow restoration to begin. 

Matthew 7:7 says: 

“Ask, and it shall be given to you.

Seek and you shall find.

Knock and the door will be opened.”

Even if you have asked for YEARS, ask again.  Even if you have sought resolution for YEARS, keep seeking.  Even if you have knocked on the door of understanding for YEARS, keep knocking.  Do NOT give up hope!!!

God answers Knee mail.  Trust Him.  Do NOT give up.