When we find ourselves trapped, we should keep our eyes on Jesus.   #theloriclineshow   Interested in learning more about becoming a devoted follower of Christ? Go to follow.lifeword.org!   ~~~   Have you fallen into a pit and you can’t get out? Maybe you’re like me and you remember those commercials, ‘help I’ve fallen and I can’t get up’? If you’re feeling like that today, you’re not alone. I would say many watching this right now may feel like they’re in a pit and are trying to find their way out. Whatever pit you may find yourself in today, they aren’t comfortable. It can be a pit of loss, pain, anxiety, struggle, uncertainty, you fill in the blank. Pits come in all shapes and sizes, but the common denominator is you’re down in the darkness of struggle, whatever that may be. If you’re there today, remember what is true, you are never alone and God has a beautiful plan even when life is in the pits. The rest of this month, since it’s so uncomfortably hot this summer, I’m looking at uncomfortable moments we read about in scripture. Many came to mind, but one I couldn’t NOT share about was Joseph. He found himself in a literal pit, put there by the jealousy and evil plans of his own brothers. Now that’s the pits for real. Joseph’s story is full of loss and unjust treatment, yet still it is redeemed and used greatly by God. Genesis 37:28 Then there passed by Midianites merchantmen; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, and sold Joseph to the Ishmeelites for twenty pieces of silver: and they brought Joseph into Egypt. I’m highlighting this very uncomfortable and hard moment of Joseph’s story. His brothers wanted him dead. He was in a pit or cistern, which was dug as a reservoir for water. There would be no way Joseph could escape. Instead of killing him, his brothers pulled him out of the pit and then sold him into slavery. He was only seventeen. Just like that, Joseph was the victim of jealousy, bitterness and hatred. He hadn’t done anything to deserve this treatment, yet that pit led to a very different path for his life. Through it all, he was faithful to God. In the pit, through the lies, the temptations and the imprisonment, Joseph was blessed, even in a place he really didn’t want to be. Still he was faithful and God used him greatly to save His people. When we find ourselves in a pit, we must keep our eyes on Jesus and trust Him with where we are, even when we aren’t where we had hoped to be. Joseph’s story is one of great loss, but at the same time, it is one of great love, provision and hope. Maybe your story is similar. I pray you can see God’s hand on your life, even if it doesn’t look like you had hoped it would. It’s in the moments we surrender what we had hoped would be, that we finally can see what IS and what God is so beautifully doing on our behalf. Corrie Ten Boom, a holocaust survivor, who knew more than we will ever know about being uncomfortable and in a dark place you would rather not be, said these words, “There is no pit so deep that God’s love is not deeper still”. When you’ve walked through a dark valley, or experienced a pit of pain and loss, and you feel the love and grace of God so near, those words ring true. There is NO darkness God’s love can’t reach. That’s the truth. Go read more about Joseph’s journey in Genesis. The theme of his story is this, what the enemy meant for evil, God used for good. God wants to do the same in your story. No matter how uncomfortable it may be, trust Him with it today. I’m Lori Cline.