Mud doesn't just fall off!

This week I struggled with some stuff. It was tough. I battled. I cried. I talked to Malcolm. As we talked I was saying how I didn't quite understand why I was feeling the way I was feeling; after all I know that God lifted me from the pit and set my feet upon a rock, and gave me a new song to sing (Psalm 40).  As we talked Malcolm reminded me that the pit in Psalm 40 is a slimy pit, full of mud and mire. He went on to ask me the last time I went for a walk in a muddy area did I return home with clean boots?

It was a precious revelation to me.....yes God has lifted me, He has done wonderful things in my life but some of the things that were in the pit still affect me.  Miry means very muddy / boggy. Slimy - covered in sludge, muck, mire, a thick and slippery substance.  I may be standing on the rock but some of those things mean I am not 100% sorted; I still struggle; I still battle; life is still hard........ BUT God is with me on the rock He won't fail, He won't leave me, He won't knock me back into the pit. So even when life is hard there is no need to condemn myself for not being in a better place....... There is still work to be done in cleaning me up after that pit, it was a deep pit, it was a hard place to be, it left marks on me, it even left wounds where I tried (unsuccessfully) to get myself out of the pit. But God lifted me out - He was the one that stooped down with love and grace and picked me out of that place and then put me on the rock, the firm place. He sees the marks and He cares. He knows I need time and He understands where I am at. There is NO condemnation for those that are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). Praise the Lord!