Feb 23, 2026 – The Pit
JC – “Be on guard against the pit of self-pity. When you are weary or unwell, this demonic trap is the greatest danger you face.” I understand this; I think most all of us can. Even just last night, at the end of a busy day (and a rather busy several days), I was getting a little too close to the edge of the pit thinking about different things that I didn’t think I’d handled well, including being behind in posting the blog (which means I hadn’t spent time with God, which is likely why I found myself wandering toward the pit!) Praying consistently throughout the day, or even once, does connect us to God as the Source of our Peace and Joy, but we are missing vital life support when we don’t spend time in His Word truly getting to know and hear Him. Just saying “hi” or even stopping for a quick chat with a friend is nice, but it doesn’t provide the deeper, conversational, give and take that is part of a real relationship.
Young’s devotion continues, “There are several ways to protect yourself from self-pity. When you are occupied with praising and thanking Me, it is impossible to feel sorry for yourself. Also, the closer you live to Me, the more distance there is between you and the pit…. Then you will be able to run with endurance the race that is set before you, without stumbling or falling.” See Hebrews 12:1-2.
Simpson – “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain” (Phil. i. 21). Simpson adds to Young’s thoughts as he points out, “The secret of a sound body is a sound heart…. Having reached this state of heart, it is beautiful to notice how quickly [Paul] rises to the victorious faith necessary to claim perfect strength…. Lord, help me to-day to ‘count not my life dear unto myself that I may finish my course with joy and the ministry that I have received of Jesus.’”
Power – 1 Peter 5:8-9 – “Be self-controlled and alert…standing firm in the faith.” Joyce also adds to the conversation about emotions as she writes, “…I believe emotional stability should be one of the main goals of every believer. We should seek God to learn how to manage our emotions and stop them from managing us…. I also encourage you to learn what upsets you the most or prompts you to behave emotionally and be watchful during those situations.”
Max reminds us that, “The devil is a splitter, a divider, a wedge driver…. He wants to take unbelievers to hell and make life hell for believers. [He is who entices us to the edge of the pit.] Every conflict is a contest with Satan and his forces. What are our weapons? Prayer, worship, and Scripture…. Satan will not linger long where God is praised and prayers are offered.”
Streams – 1 Samuel 17:34 KJV – “And there came a lion.” Cowman draws from the works of Charles Henry Parkhurst who reminds us about the challenges David faced, “When the lion came to destroy [David’s] flock, it came as a wonderful opportunity for David. If he had faltered and failed, he would have missed God’s opportunity for him and probably would never have been the Lord’s chosen King of Israel…. When a “lion” comes to your life, recognize it as an opportunity from the Lord, no matter how fierce it may outwardly seem…. May the Lord open our eyes to see Him even in temptations, trials, dangers, and misfortunes.” When our eyes are opened, we can more easily see the pit ahead and choose to back away or take another path.
[Note – I find it interesting that, last night, I was trying to push through and get some words on the page so I could catch up on the blog, but the devotions weren’t speaking to me like they usually do. I was too tired and too distracted to take in what was being shared. It was like listening to a friend and then perking up and asking, “Sorry, what did you just say?” What’s even more interesting is that my computer screen kept going black and not because I’d left it still for too long. While I was typing or just looking at the screen trying to make sense of what I’d written, the screen would go black; and, even more odd, no amount of moving the cursor or pressing the keys would bring it back up so I could get back to “work.” It would sometimes blink the white screen at me and then go dark again; so, I finally just got some chocolate ice cream, sat back into my heating pad, and watched Wildcard Kitchen, almost like Elijah being cared for and revived in 1 Kings 17:2-16. What surprised me most was that this morning I found that what I’d typed last night somehow didn’t get saved in the document. It took me a minute to realize that a fresh slate was better than trying to rework what didn’t work while I was tired and distracted last night.]
BTW – Beth Moore’s book (and companion devotional), Get Out of the Pit, is a good resource on this topic.
