The Pit

A Reflection on the Psalm for Sunday, August 17th, 2025:
Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Psalm 40

R.​ Lord, make haste to help me!

I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. 

R.​ Lord, make haste to help me!

He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. 

R.​ Lord, make haste to help me!

He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord. 

R.​ Lord, make haste to help me!

As for me, I am poor and needy, but the Lord takes thought for me. You are my help and my deliverer; do not delay, O my God.

R.​ Lord, make haste to help me!

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

Each morning we sit up, swing our legs over the side of the bed, and stand up. In the physical it is the floor we are standing on, but mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, that which we stand on can be quite different. Psalm 40 speaks of being in a desolate pit, a miry bog. My version calls it a slimy pit. 

How does one end up in a pit? Unfortunately, there are numerous ways – sin, devastating life circumstances, abuse at the hands of others, unforgiveness, unwise decisions, believing in lies… While the ways are numerous, the pit feels similar. 
Imagine with me that you are in a deep, dark pit. Your feet are stuck. You are stuck. If you are able, through incredible personal effort, to pull your feet free of the muck and mire, you find yourself painstakingly scaling a wall, white-knuckled and holding on by the ends of your fingers. Inevitably, you slip back into the too familiar pit. Can you relate? 
And so, like the psalmist, you cry out to the Lord. It is only the Lord Who can rescue us and bring us into freedom, giving our feet a firm place to stand and placing a new song into our mouth – a song of praise for our Redeemer. 

I was in a pit, and its name was “Not Enough.” In response to a question from a facilitator at a workshop a number of years ago, I wrote a word. While for the life of me I can’t remember what the question was, I will forever remember the word – “enough.” Through this word I promptly drew a large X – not… smart enough, funny enough, attractive enough, wise enough, interesting enough… “not enough.” That moment highlighted what I had been believing, gave words to what was under the surface, and began a journey out of the pit. 

My previous attempts to scale out of the pit could be summed up as the “try harder” approach. That worked for a little while and some traction was found, but it was never lasting. When I cried out to the Lord, He gave me a ladder to climb out, each rung of which was steeped in His truth about my identity, my belovedness and His goodness. 

I knit you together in your mother’s womb. (Psalm 139:13) 

You are fearfully and wonderfully made. (Psalm 139:14)

You are precious in my sight and honored and I love you. (Isaiah 43:4a) 

I rejoice over you with singing. (Zepheniah 3:17) 

I will never leave or forsake you. (Hebrews 13:5b) 

I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper and not to hurt you; plans to give you hope and a future. (Jeremiah 29:11) 

Little by little God’s words, both the logos – God’s written word handed down to me through generations – and the rhema – God’s in-the-moment words spoken directly to me – spoke life and truth into my spirit. And with His hand holding mine, I climbed out of the pit. The firm ground I stand on is the love of the Lord rooted in the truth He speaks to me every day. He truly has put a new song into my mouth, a song of praise to our God!




Lisa Wing

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