Pit Pollution

He drew me up out of a horrible pit [a pit of tumult and of destruction], out of the miry clay (froth and slime),
and set my feet upon a rock, steadying my steps and establishing my goings. (Psalm 40:2 AMPC)

Last Wednesday morning, after publishing my last post, I sat talking to God, remembering all my past failures and how many times I’d fallen back into the pit.  I asked Him if what I’d said in the post was true…that He is listening and His hand is already extended to us when we are drowning in the mire. Searching for an answer, I randomly (or not so randomly) opened my Bible to this passage (complete with highlights and underscores, and an arrow pointing to the word “hand”):

Jeremiah 23 NKJV

From that point, I walked in faith knowing that He would help me through that first day of letting go of the food obsession. And He did! I have lost a few pounds and haven’t even been tempted to binge.

But I was in a funk.

I wasn’t overeating, but I brought some pit pollution with me when God pulled me out to solid ground.  My feelings were hurt because of some offhand comments made by someone, and I was having a hard time getting past it.  I couldn’t find any joy, even though God had shown me through His word that He knew exactly where I was, and it was His hand that pulled me from the pit.  But still, I was gloomy.

I am blessed enough to still have my mom…a faithful prayer warrior…and I called her to share my heart about what I was experiencing.  I know she prayed for me, because it wasn’t long before He lifted the sadness.  He also let me see clearly something that perhaps I missed in the past:

Getting out of the pit is always a good thing, but when we bring pollution with us, we may not recognize that we are no longer in the pit because we are looking through the unforgiveness, or the anger, or the hurt that we did not let go of when we were pulled from the miry clay.

When we are grasping things like unforgiveness and anger instead of God’s unchanging hand, it will not be long before we are back in the pit!

I cannot stress how important it is to pray for others who are struggling. There are times when the struggle is so desperate that people stop praying for themselves. That is when praying people step in and pray on their behalf.

God knows. 

He hears every prayer. 

His Grace is sufficient for us.

Appetite Update:

Old habits sometimes die slow, painful deaths. I’d like to report that I haven’t dwelt on what to eat, what not to eat, or my next meal…but the truth is, I did think about those things. I will also admit that I failed at my scripture memorization. I wrote my scripture choice (Psalm 103:1-6) on index cards and kept them at my desk to refer to it as needed, but I didn’t memorize the verses. When I realized that I was thinking about food, I made a conscious choice to look at the index cards I’d made…and in particular, this verse that spoke to me:

But don't be so concerned about perishable things like food. Spend your energy seeking the eternal life that the Son of Man can give you. John 6:27 NLT