Several years ago a friend and I traveled to a hill village in Nepal. To get to the village, we took a bus a couple hours up the hill until the road became unpassable for the bus. Then we got in the back of a construction truck along with 20 other people. We took the truck as far as it could go, then hiked for a couple hours. We were in the village a couple days helping some friends.
Then it began to rain and we decided we had to leave. So my friend and I began to walk down the hillside with several villagers. That’s when the rain became a downpour. It was coming down in sheets. Of course, that made it impossible for even the construction truck to travel on the muddy path. So we had to walk all the way down to where we caught the bus to go up the hill. It took us five to six hours.
The thick mud is what made it difficult. One time I jumped down a small ledge onto the road and sunk into the mud up to my knees. Another time I was walking on the road and suddenly slipped off the hillside. Fortunately, it was a hillside terraced for the growing of rice. I fell about six feet but landed on my feet. Eventually we made it down the hill and home.
I tell this story to say that I can relate to the psalmist who wrote Psalm 40:1-3. “I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord. “
Sometimes we can get stuck in miry clay of emotions or wrong thinking. Stresses and pressures come and we can’t find our way out. At those times we need to call upon God. He alone can pull us out of these pits. Then He will place us firmly on the solid ground of His love and grace.
Reluctant Retiree 