The Lord will vindicate me; your love, Lord, endures forever—do not abandon the works of your hands. Psalm 138:8

Life can be excruciating. Crushing, in fact. The sheer magnitude of our worries can press down on our heads until we unknowingly descend into a pit of despair one inch at a time. Something so horrible can happen that we conclude we'll never be okay again. We can blow it so badly we think God would just as soon we stayed under that dirt and out of His sight.

But the Bible teaches that there are no lost causes. No permanent pit-dwellers except those who refuse to leave. Every person can know the complete redemption of Jesus Christ, a purpose for life, and a fullness of joy. No, life won't ever be easy, but the trade-off is a spin around Planet Earth that actually means something. I am convinced that when the last chapter of each life story is recorded in the annals of heaven, people would rather have lived out their fullness of days with purpose rather than painlessness.

Living with purpose requires energy and focus, time and sacrifice. What keeps you from pursuing a more purpose-filled life? Are you willing to release those things to the Lord and allow Him to empower you to fulfill the purpose He has for you?

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Lord God, how wonderful that we can live our days on this planet with purpose—and how wonderful that when You call us to fulfill that purpose, You empower us as well! I ask for that power, Lord. Whether I'm living out my purpose by being a wife, a mother, a friend, an ambassador for You, a servant, or a worker in the marketplace, may I find in You strength and joy.

Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me. Psalm 31:3

If you're in a pit, you don't have to stay in it. Even if you've been there your whole life, you can call it a day. Even if you somehow—at least in your own mind—deserve the pit you live in, you're still not stuck there.

Maybe you're the noble type trying to make the best of your pit. You keep wondering why you can't get satisfied there, why you aren't mature enough to be content where you are. After all, didn't the apostle Paul tell us that we should learn to be content in any circumstance?

Has it occurred to you that maybe a pit is one place where you're not supposed to be content? Maybe you should thank God you're not. Some things weren't meant to be accepted. A pit is one of them. Quit trying to make the best of it. It's time to get out.

Will you think outside the box—outside the pit—and accept the truth that God doesn't want you in there any longer?

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I praise You, Lord, for being my Deliverer, my Rescuer, my Redeemer! I know I'm not supposed to be content in my pit. And I believe You can get me out—You want me out—of it. I will look to You to give me strength and to lead me to a place of true contentment.

To you, Lord, I called; to the Lord I cried for mercy ... You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy. Psalm 30:8, 11

My husband, our two dogs, and I travel a lot, and we're often asked why we don't get an RV. The answer: the bathroom. The small space and lack of fresh air in an RV makes the presence of a bathroom so ... well ... inescapable. They say you get used to it, but do I really want to? Nope, the way I see it, we were not meant to get used to some things. Like living in a pit.

Let's say for years you've been living in an old RV so small you can't stretch your legs or stand up straight. Then imagine being offered a brand-new home. A real one on a solid foundation with big closets and wide-open spaces. You can hardly wait to move in. Filled with anticipation, you rev up the motor of the old RV and plow it right into the new living room, taking out a wall or two on the way. Ah, finally! A new place to call home! You settle back in your RV seat, take a deep breath, and then it hits you. That deep breath tasted a lot like that old lavatory.

Friend, what is the cry of your heart today? God really does have the tools to unhitch that mobile pit from you. He also has a firm place for you where you can stand. And, yes, He hears your cry!

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You are gentle and powerful, patient and loving ... and nothing is impossible for You, Lord God! So I ask You—who hears me whenever I call out for you and for whom nothing is impossible—to unhitch that mobile pit of mine!

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

In our Christian subculture, we think a pit of sin is the only kind of pit there is. But we have to think much more broadly. For starters, I see in God's Word three ways we can get into a pit.

First, you know you are in a pit when you feel stuck, and you can't get yourself out. David's pit was "slimy," muddy, and miry (Psalm 40:2), and Jeremiah "sank down" in his (Jeremiah 38:6).

Second, you know you are in a pit when you can't stand up ... against your enemy. In other words, a pit is an early (figurative) grave that Satan digs for you in hopes he can bury you alive. Satan can't make you stay there, but God will not make you leave.

And you know you are in a pit when you've lost vision ... because pits have no windows. In that darkness, we can no longer see things that may have once been obvious to us. Also, the close confinement of a pit exhausts us with the endless echo of self-absorption. We can't see out, so we turn our sights in, and that nearsightedness breeds hopelessness.

Isn't it crazy that even the painful but familiar can be comfortable? It may be comfortable, but it's never God's best for you!

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Thank You that You are a loving God who wants what's best for me—and a wise God who knows what's best for me! And this pit isn't it, Lord. So please help me get out. Start showing me how to get out—help me want to get out!

I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance. Ephesians 1:18 NLT

Created in the image of God, we are intended to overflow with effervescent life, stirring and spilling with God-given vision. That's partly what the apostle Paul was talking about when he prayed that the eyes of our hearts would be enlightened in order that we might know the hope to which Christ has called us (Ephesians 1:18). The Amplified Bible calls it "having the eyes of your heart flooded with light." That's what you miss in the pit.

Our imaginations were fashioned like wicks to be ignited by the fire of fresh revelation, dripping with wax that God can imprint with His endless signatures. In the light of God's face shining upon us, we also glimpse reflections of our true selves. We were meant to see ourselves as part of something vital, something incredibly thrilling. But the eyes of some of us have adjusted to the darkness of the pit surrounding us. The resulting dim vision ages us rapidly, and we lose the childlikeness that once made us feel like real princes and princesses in a kingdom. We can be young and yet feel old. Heavy laden. Burdened. In a pit where vision is lost and dreams are foolishness.

What dreams do you need to once again pursue? Know that God's...