Out Of The Pit

It has been my experience that being called to minister encouragement isn't for the faint of heart. I'm sure the other HHM leaders can agree. We carry a desire within our hearts to heal the brokenhearted and walking away from a hurting soul is difficult. Like a farmer planting seeds, that rejoices when he can relish in the fruits of his labor by eating or selling his crop, an encourager rejoices in seeing those God placed in our paths healed and thriving in life. Two weeks ago God painted a picture for me in my prayers. It was of me and a friend of mine, in a pit. I have ministered to this friend for over a year. She has faced her ups and downs. Lately, more downs than ups. In this vision, I am trying as hard as I can to help my friend out of the pit but she refuses to climb because she is waiting for God to pick her up and bring her out. Every time I feel encouraged and begin to climb the ladder, out of the pit, I feel bad for leaving her and climb back down into the pit. Again I try to convince her to take my hand so that I could show her how to climb out, but she shakes her head no, keeping her eyes fixated on the heavens waiting for her miracle. As I am sitting beside her, I hear God say "Cynthia, climb out of the pit." My heart breaks a little at the idea of leaving my friend. I reply, "I can't leave her down here alone, God." He says, "You aren't leaving her alone. I am always with her. It is time. You need to walk into your calling, Cynthia. She needs to decide if she wants to walk into hers. Cynthia, you have done all you can do. She needs to rise up now." After that vision, I was both motivated and sad. I cried for my friend because my fear was that she would choose to stay in her pit rather than walk into the calling God placed in her life. The truth is, God calls every one of us to something bigger and greater than ourselves and so many of us miss out on that calling. I know you are probably wondering, why is it such a bad thing to wait expectantly for God to reach down into the pit and pull you out. It sounds beautiful and heavenly to be miraculously pulled out of a pit. But then what? How have you grown and learned from your trial? You haven't. Now every time you find yourself in a pit, you have only taught yourself to wait for God to provide another miracle. That is not what God is wanting from His people. Climbing out of the pit is part of the journey to grow in Him. To trust in Him. To bring you to the next level of the calling He has placed on your life. Its part of the training and the molding that needs to take place so that God can then use you to help another who has gone through what you have gone through. My friend was waiting for God to send her help and because He cares, He did. He sent His Word. And He sent me, a friend who could understand & encourage her. He sent her a person that could teach her to climb out, and grow in Christ because that friend had traveled that road once before, and climbed out of that pit without a miracle. I shared this vision with my friend, unsure that she would be receptive to it. She replied with tears and then with enthusiasm. I am super excited to report that she has begun her climb out of the pit and allowed me to share this testimony and encouragement with you. I pray, in the future, I can share more about her journey and that one day she will be featured on our Mended page as a Riser. Are you in a pit waiting for a miracle? I would never tell you to stop believing in miracles, but I am going to encourage you to climb out of your pit without relying on one. Use God's Word, and the encouragement of friends & HHM to build a ladder, and climb out of your pit. You have a calling on your life. The pit was just a pit stop. A necessary part of the journey, but its not the final destination. Wise up. Rise up. Climb up. Everything is possible for him who believes. Mark 9:23