When the water is rising
They threw me alive into a pit and closed the opening with a stone. Water began to close over me, and I thought death was near. From the bottom of the pit, O Lord, I cried out to you, And when I begged you to listen to my cry, you heard. You answered me and told me not to be afraid. You came to my rescue, Lord, and saved my life. Lamentations 3 : 53 - 58 (GNB) |
The situation in this week's passage seems rather bleak. Here we find the author in a scene which could have quite easily have been taken from an action movie. He is trapped in a pit and the only exit has been sealed. Then if that is not bad enough, water is flowing into the pit and the level is slowly rising.
At this point he is quite understandably considering his own mortality. He begins thinking that his time on Earth is rapidly approaching its end. However he realises that he is not entirely out of options yet. He calls on the one he knows will be able to hear him, despite being trapped in a hole in the middle of nowhere. He calls the only one who will be able to rescue him. He calls God.
So what happened next? God heard his call for help and came to the rescue, saving his life. We are not told the mechanics of how the rescue took place in this passage, but that does not really matter. The important point is that in his moment of urgent need he turned to God. He put his trust in him to provide a solution. God listened to his cry for help and launched a rescue plan.
This passage was written thousands of years ago, most likely around 580 BC. Despite its age, this passage remains just as relevant to us today as it was for the writer in Jerusalem all those years ago. We need to remember than even when things seem bleak and you feel that you are alone in an impossible situation, you are not! You still have God on your side, and that is all that you need. Have a great week.
This week's song is One Drop by Plumb. |
Header image by: Tim Geers via Flickr