Psalm 71:20 "Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up.
Recently, Dave and I were in New Mexico and had the opportunity to see some of the wonders of creation. Carlsbad Caverns was no exception. Yet, I must say I am not a big cave fan..... I think it is the smell. The dank, dreary, drippy nature of the cave that just makes me feel claustrophobic. But, when you are confronted with the opportunity to see a national treasure you plunge on.
So we began our descent. It is a 1.3 mile trek from the beginning of the path to where the beginning of the Great Room begins. The entire trip down I kept feeling more and more constricted and the smell of bat guano was making my head spin. Yet the further down I got the more determined I was to find the treasure that lay at the bottom.
I guess I feel like life has been a bit like this cave excursion for me. Slowly over time I made the descent into the black darkness of sin and deception. Sometimes there would be unseen hands reaching out to me. Some of those hands were trying to pull me up and others were attempting to thrust me further down into the depths. There even were times where I felt I was free-falling into the abyss and wondering if ever there would be that hard knock that would indicate that I had reached the bottom.
The verse from psalms talks of the fact that life is full of troubles and bitterness and so many other negative things. And yet just as there were beautiful gifts of stalagmites and stalagtites at the bottom of the cave there was an end to my struggle where once again I could feel the restoring hand of the Father upon me. The ascent into the light has been welcome. Just as it was at Carlsbad. The air becomes lighter and the claminess disappears. And then in brilliant glory, sometimes painful in its presence, is the sun. Suddenly, all that was dark and mysterious is gone and it is replaced with light and life.
Our Father has taken me up from the depths of despond and has set my feet once again upon the solid rock. His Sonshine permeates my sould with its light and promises to expose those areas of my being that still want to travel down the dark and dreary path to the bottom. I am resting on His unchanging grace. I am relishing in His mercy that took that lost soul from the bottom, from the despair and brought me up to newness of life. Praise God.
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God is so good to us and thankfully we have Him to pull us back from our depths! Hope you have a good week!
"The Beauty of My Kingdom is its growth. In that Kingdom there is always progress, a going on from strength to strength, from glory to glory. Be in My Kingdom, and of My Kingdom, and there can be no stagnation. Eternal Life, abundant Life is promised to all in it, and of it.
No misspent time over failures and shortcomings. Count the lessons learnt from them but as rungs in the ladder. Step up, and then cast away all thought of the manner of the making of the rung. Fashioned of joy or sorrow, of failure or success, of wounds or healing balm, what matter, My children, so long as it served its purpose?"
God Calling, October 13
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