Have you ever fallen into the pit of despair, feeling deep sadness and hopelessness? Have you ever dug a pit of despair? Are you in one now because of the pandemic? Thoughts of despair lead to depression and illness. I remember when I found out my brilliant son was a heroin and meth addict. My heart was broken beyond despair. The emotional anguish caused me to become crippled from muscle cramps.
I am reminded of the scene in the movie, “The Princess Bride,” when Wesley is taken to the pit of despair by the albino (you can Youtube the scene). Have you ever felt stretched beyond what you could bear, and your life was being sucked out of you from the stress of loss and hardships? What were you thinking? To learn more about the power of thoughts, read What Controls Your Thoughts? and Thoughts That Create Peace Within and Without
How do you dig a pit of despair?
In my last post, I explained how difficulties and hardships are inevitable throughout our lives and maybe every day. Hardships are supposed to make us stronger and increase our ability to persevere through hardships, thus, making us more patient and mature. Romans 5:3&4 states, “but we rejoice in our sufferings (tribulations, afflictions), knowing that suffering produces endurance (patience), and endurance produces (prove) character, and character produces hope.” Ironically, we are to be happy for hardships because they create hope. But instead, we think about what we don’t like and what is unfair, and we lose the hope for what we desire. So, we dig the mental pit of despair and writhe in the mud of sadness. The pit is where many people will commit suicide, so look out for those who are in despair, and give them hope. Read my post about how to have hope: HOPE: How it Motivates and Inspires BUT God’s Sovereignty….
Why do you fall into the pit of despair?
- Negative thinking helps you dig the pit of despair in your mind and will keep you there. Change your thoughts from negative to positive and you will see your way out of the pit. POSTS on Thoughts
- You fall in the pit because of disappointment when you think you will never get what you want.
- Focusing on your loss blinds you, and you fall into the pit and remain there until you begin to claim the promises of God. 15 Promises We Can Trust God to Keep
How do you avoid the pit of despair?
You already know—change your thinking. The best way to change your thinking is to replace your false beliefs with the truth of God’s Word. Read the following Scriptures and record in your journal what mental changes you will make when going through hardships and you find yourself in the pit. Identify wrong thinking and false beliefs you may have in your particular hardship that needs to be loosed/put off from your mind. And then write out the truths in these Scripture passages to bind/put on to your heart and mind, to transform your wrong thinking and false beliefs. To learn how to replace your thoughts, read Five Steps to Heal Your Heart and Purify Your Soul.
Matthew 6:33-34 states, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34) Therefore, do not be anxious (worry) about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” (Read my post called, How do you seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness?)
1Peter 5:6-7 states, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.” (Pride keeps us in the pit because we have the false beliefs we have the right to be anxious and deserve to be miserable.)
Philippians 4:6-7 states, “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7) And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Isaiah 26:3 states, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You because he trusts in You.”
Romans 8:18 states, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”
2Corinthians 4:17-18 states, “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18) as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”
Trusting God’s promises help you triumph over the hopeless thinking that comes with every hardship. The demonic world uses hardships to cause you to doubt God and pridefully live independently of Him. Everyone battles a prideful, self-centered, sinful nature. Hardships expose your pride, wrong thinking, and false beliefs. To learn more about pride, read HOW PRIDE DESTROYS.
Conclusion:
The pit of despair and deep sadness is easy to fall into, so don’t beat yourself up if you find yourself in one. Your thoughts control how you feel, believe, and behave, so changing your thinking will keep and get you out of the pit. Instead of thinking negative thoughts, think on the positive truth found in God’s Word. I remained in the pit of despair and depression over my son’s addiction problem for over a year. I got out of the pit when I changed my thinking and put my son in God’s care and prayed for Him to fulfill His purpose for my son’s life. I had a positive vision of Jesus being with my son as He leads him out of the pit of addiction. When looked up to God and changed my thinking, I was no longer crippled by muscle cramping. What thoughts do you need to change? What lies do you believe that is keeping you in the pit of despair? Look up and seek God’s help.
You have hope for complete healing as you transform your thinking and painful memories. 1–Healing Begins by Transforming Painful Memories
RELATED POSTS:
Pt. 2: Why You Can and Cannot Trust God?
How to experience a heavenly life on earth.
Are you in control of your life?
Being Thankful During Hardships
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P.S.: Experiencing lasting change in your life depends on having a right relationship with God the Father through believing in His Son Jesus Christ and obeying His command to love (1 John 3).
Hope for Complete Healing 