God Delivers! My Testimony Out of the Pit

Being in ministry, the last thing you want to do is admit weakness and failures. But… God has called me to encourage people to have authentic relationships with Him.  I would love to say that walking with Jesus is bliss every single day and that I’m totally exempt from all temptation and trials. The truth is- as we grow as Christians a couple of things happen. One- as our relationship deepens, God calls us to a higher level of obedience and surrender.  The reality is- sometimes there is an all out war between flesh and spirit that no one sees but you and the spirit world. Also, as we grow in Christ, He opens new doors of opportunity – and I can tell you Satan is not happy with that and will do everything He can to stop the process. I’ve been taught to keep my spiritual armor on, but I guess I never really understood the importance of dodging pits as I walk.

Since my salvation experience, up until the last year, nothing significantly jeopardized the sweet communion I had enjoyed with the Holy Spirit.  I had heard of other people experiencing “break-thrus and “strong-holds” but I couldn’t relate until I experienced it first hand.  Infact- I thought “pit” was the place people were BEFORE Salvation- not really for Christians.   Thank God for Beth Moore’s “Get Out of the Pit”  I have an explanation for my experience.

Christians can indeed end up in a pit.  We can be pushed, slip, or we can jump in. I also learned that you don’t have to be caught up in a stronghold of sin to be in one either.  We can be pushed into a pit due to circumstances beyond control, but choose to rearrange things and hold onto bitterness, jealousy or other things until it becomes sinful. Most importantly, I learned that only God can deliver a person out of a pit- sometimes it is instantaneous, sometimes it’s a process HOWEVER to be free and never return-it has to be something HE does.  Beth explains there are 3 ways to know you’re in one:

1. You feel Stuck

 2. You Can’t Stand Up

3. You’ve lost vision.

Wow… yes.. I was in a pit alright and I just HAVE to tell you about the faithfulness of God and how He delivered me! I believe with all my heart that God will move heaven and earth to respond to the cries of His children… and furthermore by being transparent, I hope it encourages you to trust Him more.

God Given Hope

I’m still not sure if I slipped in the pit or was pushed and rearranged things- but I can say I was to the point of feeling hopeless and I didn’t know why. I knew all the right things to do- I understood the Biblical principles of “Confess… then… Repent… then everything was supposed to be hunky- dorey…  But  my hang up was over true repentance. I could agree (confess)with God that I was wrong and I honestly with all of my heart wanted to turn- but I was so weak I couldn’t get up, let alone turn around and walk the other way. At times,  I could  picture myself clinging to the cross and see His blood drip on me. Completely drained of energy- the only thing I could get out of my mouth was “mercy!”  I would think: “Please show me mercy until I can get enough strength to get up from the foot of your cross and walk away in a different direction from which I came.”  I hadn’t read the book yet, and didn’t know Delivery was something He had to do.  I was exhausted from trying to climb out in my own strength, only to sink further. Completely distraught as I prayed one morning I asked the Lord :  ”How can I know you even hear me? A little while later, I happened to glance at the ceiling and because of the light shining through the window, there was a shadow of a big “helping hand” and a cross.  I knew at that moment He saw me and knew the intentions of my heart. 

God Delivers

A few months passed and by this time I had started reading “Get Out Of The Pit.”  In chapter 6, Beth laid out the clear steps to get out:  Cry Out, Confess,  Consent… A-ha! That’s it… “Consent” that was my ticket out. I had been crying out and I had been confessing but “consent” I hadn’t got there yet. Pg 115 “Here’s the deal: God wants everything you’ve got. Uncontested priority. Every egg in one basket. All your weight on one limb. This very moment He has His fingers gripped on your chin, saying, “Right here, Child. Look right here. Don’t look right or left. Stare straight into My face. I am your Deliverer. There is none like me.”- Beth Moore.    

I had never experienced God as “my Deliverer”- only heard about that, but I was willing.   Broken and sincere,I laid face down before God and surrendered everything I could think of and declared full dependence on Him to pull me out of the pit.  I also swore to wait patiently until my delivery came.  It’s hard to describe- but a ”sweet peace”  flooded my soul and I stood up- only to childishly say: “Ok- I know you’re coming to deliver me.. but… um… will you do something for me? um… Will you give me a sign that you’re on the way- something that I can hold on to- something tangible? If not- I still trust you.”  – then I walked out of the living room and onto my back porch.

My oldest son joined me- we were chatting on the porch when out of no-where flew a BIRD into my grill and landed smack dab on the pavement! Everyone who knows me- knows I’m scared of birds- really! But this bird was on his way out of this world, panting shallow- and I was freaking out that a dying bird was right outside my porch! I managed to muster enough guts to go out and take a picture so I could txt it to my husband asking what I should do- I wasn’t going to touch it, but I didn’t want it layin’ out there stinking! I got the picture of is limp little feathered body as it panted. As I opened the door to the porch, “my little girl streak” rose up in me and I thought about God’s word.. and I began talking to God again… I said.. “Wait just a minute!!!! Your word says that You see every sparrow that falls… I don’t know if this is a sparrow or not, but you saw it! Your word says that you care more for me than you do this bird… then PROVE IT!!! Heal this bird! Deliver it for me.. You know how this would build my faith- let me see you deliver & heal this bird so I will KNOW you’re going to do the same for me!”  I came back on the porch and started singing and praying over the bird! I sang “Jesus- there’s just something about that name” and “I believe You’re my healer” And yes.. I spoke words of faith and encouragement over the bird- I quoted Deut 33:26 and told the bird that there is none like God and that He was riding across the heavens- across the skies in majestic splendor to come help him. And I added- You know why, bird? It’s not really about you, it’s about ME! But you hang on- My God is coming to deliver you!” At least 15 minutes of this went on- then I decided to go out for another check up- this time, as I opened the door- the bird immediately flew to the nearest tree and sat there! Honestly- my reaction wasn’t what you’d think.. I just smiled and said- “I knew you would!”

I was puzzled and I watched the bird for 2 hours sit in the same spot on the tree- and couldn’t figure out what God was saying to me through that- Could it be the bird doesn’t believe he’s really free?- I thought.. hmmm so- laying aside my bird fears, full of faith I marched out to the tree and told the bird this: “God doesn’t half way heal or restore!”… In fact.. I started preaching again- this time quoting portions of Zech9:11-12 “Come back to the place of safety, all you prisoners who still have hope, I promise this very day that I will repay two blessings for each of your troubles. Did you hear THAT bird??? Two blessings for your troubles!” I told the bird:  ”that’s just the way God works… When He delivers, he restores and blesses!”

So… why am I sharing my struggles- Honestly- I’d prefer everyone to think I’m perfect and always have my act together. But… I guess I want to let people know that good- “Jesus loving” people can find themselves in a situation where they feel stuck, standing up seems impossible and vision is gone! (THE PIT) And… it doesn’t necessarily mean you’ve done anything wrong. When we find ourselves in this type of a situation- the natural thing is to either become content and accept living in the pit or strive to dig ourselves out. The only way out to STAY- is to cooperate with God and let Him do it!    Let Him be your deliverer He is for you! And…. I strongly recommend Beth Moore’s “Get Out of the Pit!”   http://www.lproof.org/AboutUs/

If I can be of assistance on your spiritual journey, please email me at pastorrhonda@heismyrock.com.  If you do not have a church home and live in the Chattanooga/North GA area, please visit us at Rock Pointe Church http://heismyrock.com/.  Rhonda Frye Music Ministries is a 501C- Non Profit Ministry.  For More information visit: http://rhondafrye.com/

Pastor Rhonda