What if those who are sinking could remember this one thing as they go?
That there is a blessing at the bottom.
“…or that in this deep whereinto they are descending, there lies a delivering mercy couching to catch them, and to save them from sinking forever, this would be relief unto them, and help them to hope for good.”
John Bunyan, All Loves Excelling
I am asking myself this question this week:
Am I truly grasping the depth of God’s love?
Experiencing the depth of God’s love seems to happen for me in the hardest moments in life. It’s in the real-life, sinking pits where I am forced to truly grasp his saving roots that extend out to me. In the pit, I can’t be passive. In the pit, I must cooperate with those roots reaching out to me. I must reach out for them in the dark, dig into the earth, pull them out of the ground with dirt under my nails, hang onto them for dear life, and, hoist myself up.
In case I sound like I’m advocating a reliance on self, I assure you I’m not.
It’s a cooperative faith, not a passive one I’m talking about.
As I dig for roots, hold on, and hoist, I’m all the while trusting that it’s the roots of truth (God Himself) that are saving me.
Do not believe the lie that if you were really a Christian, you wouldn’t find yourself in a pit at all. Pits are where Satan loves to do his work on those who are a threat. Some of the most amazing Christians have struggled with deep, dark pits throughout their life.
John Bunyan himself was in the pit of prison, yet, wrote one of the world’s most influential books while there. His work, Pilgrim’s Progress, shows us excactly how to grasp God’s love in the midst of despair. It is by knowing God’s promises and truths and holding onto them.
Satan would love nothing more than for your light to be darkened in a deep dark place instead of shining on a high hill. Followers of Christ can find themselves in a dark dungeon of temptation, persecution, scary or painful life circumstances that lead toward depression, sickness, sin, or faulty thinking. Whether it’s a pit that you were thrust into or self-propelled into…or a mixture of those two things, remember this…
Satan may have thought he had gotten rid of the light for good as they nailed down Jesus’ hands and feet, but he was wrong wasn’t he?
And he is wrong to think that he can hide your light.
Because it’s in the dark pits of life that you shine the brightest when you choose to dig and rise above them with the Lord’s help. When you decide to turn from Wasteland to Graceland. When you choose Jesus, His grace, and His kingdom.
Even David, a man after God’s heart, wrote of being in the depths.
“For great is your steadfast love toward me; you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.” (Psalm 86:13 ESV)
Whether we feel it or not, there is a blessing of God’s everlasting arms present to catch you underneath what feels like an eternal dark depth to your soul. These arms reach beyond this depth.
“The eternal God is your dwelling place,
Deuteronomy 33:27
and underneath are the everlasting arms.”
The feeling of being in a deep, dark pit is really only a feeling. God is truly your dwelling place if you are in Christ and He is in you.
The most helpful thought for me this week from Bunyan’s writings on the depth of God’s love in All Love’s Excelling were based on this above scripture:
“…the blessings of the deep, do couch beneath. Couch, that is, lie close, so as hardly to be discerned by him that willingly would see that himself is not below these arms that are beneath him. But that as I said, is hard to be discerned by him that thus is sinking, and that has as he now smartingly feels, all God’s waves, and his billows rolling over him. However, whether he sees or not, for this blessing lieth couched; yet there it is, and there will be, though one should sink as deep as hell; And hence they are said to be ‘everlasting arms’ that are ‘underneath’ (Deuteronomy 33:27). That is, arms that are long and strong and that can reach to the bottom, and also beyond, of all misery and distress, that Christians are subject to in this life.”
John Bunyan, All Loves Excelling
What does truly grasping the depth of God’s love look like when you’re in a deep, dark place? Are there promises that act as roots to hold onto? Are there truths that undergird you that keep you from going deeper?
If you are presently in a dark place, are you cooperating with Him by grasping the roots of truth that are loving placed around you to hold onto, the arms of God and His promises that lie underneath you?
Will you join me over the next few weeks as we explore and grasp God’s love more fully as I look at John Bunyan’s book, All Loves Excelling? I agree with Bunyan that it is our privilege and duty to do so. My goal is to be prepared to face the trials and temptations of this life well. Perhaps we might even flourish under them as John Bunyan did. If you missed the introduction to this series, you can find it here:
Am I Truly Grasping God’s Love, Even When I Feel Unlovable?
Next week I’ll focus on Bunyan’s take the height of God’s love.
Would you like your own copy of All Loves Excelling?
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Do you appreciate the regular questions I ask on this blog? If so, you would also like the booklet I’ve put together called
Asking is Loving: Powerful, life-changing questions to ask yourself and the people you love.
This booklet contains over one hundred questions split up into four groups of questions for yourself, your spouse, your children, and your friends.
Do you want a tool that can bring honor and value to your relationships with others? Do you want to deepen the knowledge you have of yourself and others? Do you want to move and help move others beyond passivity and toward more congruence, with the life we desire in our hearts and the life the Lord may intend for us to live?
Click here for this free booklet and more!
Linking up this week with these lovely bloggers!
So, so beautiful, dear Amy. That word “couched” is touching me so deeply today, as I pause with the Scripture of His everlasting arms being underneath us. To be so held, to be so wrapped, oh praise Him. Thank you so much for sharing these encouraging thoughts today.
Hi Bettie-these older writers sure know how to word things in a way that touch my soul. I’m loving John Bunyan! I’m thankful you are comforted by His everlasting arms!
I appreciate this truth, “The feeling of being in a deep, dark pit is really only a feeling. God is truly your dwelling place if you are in Christ and He is in you.”
“Are there promises that act as roots to hold onto?” Yes, Psalm 91.
Oh my, Lisa, I love that Psalm. I’m so glad you shared it! Thanks for visiting!
Amen Amy, thank you for this blessed lesson within today. I appreciate your words and insights. Thank you for delving into the topic of grasping the depth of God’s love, I think it’s something many of us think about. Blessings to you.
~Selah~
Blessings to you, Paula!
Amy, like you, I’ve found that “there is a blessing at the bottom.” I’ve read Deuteronomy 33:27 before but it never sunk in like it has today, thanks to your words. Deuteronomy 31:8 is a root I hold on to … “The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”
Thank you, Lois! That verse you shared is wonderful. I will hold onto it too!