Psalms 40:1-3 NIV — I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him.

This week I have shared with you how I have been slowly digging out of the dark pit I recently found myself in. It is inevitable that at certain times of life, we all find ourselves walking through valleys and sometimes we fall into a dark pit. The important takeaway is that we don’t remain in the dark pit and that we find a way to dig out of the darkness. My final tip that has helped me is to intentionally look for Godwinks. If you are unfamiliar with this word, take a moment to read this article titled What’s a Godwink.

I believe God is always sending us affirmations and signs of hope, but you and I must be willing to receive. We must have our eyes, ears, hearts, and minds open so we don’t miss all the opportunities we have to “see” God. Looking for Godwinks helped me dig out of the slimy pit. Godwinks have given me hope and have helped “set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.”

My experience of digging out of darkness: 

Step 1: Cry out to God and read the Bible

Step 2: Connect and share with others

Step 3: Daily gratitude practice

Step 4: Move

Step 5: Look for Godwinks

Let’s pray. Dear Master, thank You for all the Godwinks You send my way. May I be open to receive Your mercy and grace. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

If you feel that you are struggling with depression, you don’t have to struggle alone. You can call The National Mental Health Hotline at 866-903-3787 to speak to a professional about depression and get help with mental health resources.

Psalms 40:11 NIV — Do not withhold your mercy from me, Lord; may your love and faithfulness always protect me.

I am not an athlete. I am also not in great physical shape. However, I do enjoy walking for exercise. Movement is a great mood booster. Take a moment to read this article published by health.gov after the pandemic titled Physical Activity Is Good for the Mind and the Body.

When I was recently struggling with feeling troubled and down, I realized I had gotten out of my habit of walking. My schedule had become so busy that my usual walking time had been cramped. Realizing how important it was for me to move for my mood to improve, I set out to walk around the loop I live on while our dinner was in the oven. Even though I was only able to fit in a 10 minute walk, the time of movement helped lift my spirits and increased my energy level.

My experience of digging out of darkness: 

Step 1: Cry out to God and read the Bible

Step 2: Connect and share with others

Step 3: Daily gratitude practice

Step 4: Move

Let’s pray. Dear Heavenly Father, help me to prioritize my time so I am able to find pockets of time to move for exercise. Continue to remind me of the importance of movement. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

If you feel that you are struggling with depression, you don’t have to struggle alone. You can call The National Mental Health Hotline at 866-903-3787 to speak to a professional about depression and get help with mental health resources.

Psalms 40:4-5; 9-10 NIV — Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods. Many, Lord my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare.

I proclaim your saving acts in the great assembly; I do not seal my lips, Lord, as you know. I do not hide your righteousness in my heart; I speak of your faithfulness and your saving help. I do not conceal your love and your faithfulness from the great assembly.

Over the years I have found that the most immediate way to turn my attitude around is to focus on gratitude. As I have shared before, I start each day with writing down five blessings for which I am thankful. When I recently found myself digging out of a dark pit, I realized I had not been consistent with writing down my gratitudes every day. Once again, the distractions that had pulled me away from my usual morning devotion time had also diverted my attention from my daily gratitude practice. Once I realized what I had allowed to happen, I refocused and restarted my routine. This practice always lifts my spirits and brightens my attitude. 

My experience of digging out of darkness: 

Step 1: Cry out to God and read the Bible

Step 2: Connect and share with others

Step 3: Daily gratitude practice

Let’s pray. Dear God, thank You for each and every blessing. May I always proclaim Your mercy and goodness to those around me. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

If you feel that you are struggling with depression, you don’t have to struggle alone. You can call The National Mental Health Hotline at 866-903-3787 to speak to a professional about depression and get help with mental health resources.

Psalms 40:4-5 NIV — Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods. Many, Lord my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare.

When I am feeling downtrodden, my natural inclination is to withdraw and turn inward. How about you? I think at first I want to feel sorry for myself and eventually I just want to be antisocial. However, I have learned that when I am feeling this way, the best medicine is connection. Recently when I was in a dark hole, I realized I was withdrawing. After dinner each evening I got into the habit of retiring to my room instead of staying in the den and watching TV with my family. I also began making excuses and reasons to not do things with my friends. In yesterday’s post I shared that for me the first step of digging out of my darkness was calling out to God and getting back to spending time in His presence and word. Once I began that, God opened my eyes to my new habit of withdrawing and lack of connection. 

Next I worked on reconnecting. I was intentional on reaching out to some friends to schedule time to walk and talk. During our time together, I shared some of my daily struggles. Just that little bit of connection and sharing helped me to restructure my evening time at home, thus changing my new habit of withdrawing.

My experience of digging out of darkness: 

Step 1: Cry out to God and read the Bible

Step 2: Connect and share with others

Let’s pray. Dear God, thank You for opening my eyes to times when I am withdrawing and turning inward. Help me to stay connected and share my struggles with others. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

If you feel that you are struggling with depression, you don’t have to struggle alone. You can call The National Mental Health Hotline at 866-903-3787 to speak to a professional about depression and get help with mental health resources.

Psalms 40:11-13 NIV — Do not withhold your mercy from me, Lord; may your love and faithfulness always protect me. For troubles without number surround me; my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see. They are more than the hairs of my head, and my heart fails within me. Be pleased to save me, Lord; come quickly, Lord, to help me.

In my experience, when I am walking through a valley or have fallen into a pit, I have also unintentionally backed away from God. As I look back over a recent time of darkness, I realize I was going through the motions of spending time with God, but I allowed distractions to redirect my focus. For example, I continued to get up early, gathered my devotion books and journal, and read a short devotion. However, I then would pick up my phone to look at an email devotion and instead of reading the devotion I would start deleting unwanted emails and eventually I would get sucked into scrolling through social media. 

As the days of that pattern continued, I was getting further and further away from my time with God. I continued to get up early, but eventually the habit of sitting with God turned into a habit of wasting time. As the pressures of life grew, my stress also grew and I was not coping well. Thus began a slow decline until I found myself in a dark pit. To others I may have appeared the same, but inside, I felt downtrodden. My first step to digging out of the hole was when I cried out to God and got back into His word. God began to open my eyes to the change I had made allowing distractions to change my morning focus and He began to refocus my mindset. I got back on track with my morning routine and habit of time with God and the Master equipped me with the shovel to start the process of digging out of my dark pit. 

My experience of digging out of darkness: 

Step 1: Cry out to God and read the Bible

Let’s pray. Dear Heavenly Father, thank You for not giving up on me when I move away from You. Thank You for always showing me Your presence when I call out to You. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.

If you feel that you are struggling with depression, you don’t have to struggle alone. You can call The National Mental Health Hotline at 866-903-3787 to speak to a professional about depression and get help with mental health resources.

Psalms 40:17 NIV — But as for me, I am poor and needy; may the Lord think of me. You are my help and my deliverer; you are my God, do not delay.

NEWS FLASH! Life is hard! I am sure that is not news to you. It certainly isn’t news to me. We have many ups and downs in life. Sometimes we seem to walk through a valley for a long season, and sometimes we fall into a dark pit.

Has there been a time when you felt like you were walking in an endless valley? Have you ever fallen into a dark pit? Perhaps you are currently in a dark and difficult season. Join me this week as I share my experiences of digging out of a dark pit and walking through an unlit valley. Spoiler alert: God holds the shovel that can dig you out of the darkness and He is the trailblazer through the difficult terrain of a valley. 

Let’s pray with the guidance of today’s scripture. Dear Lord, “think of me. You are my help and deliverer; you are my God, do not delay.” In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.

If you feel that you are struggling with depression, you don’t have to struggle alone. You can call The National Mental Health Hotline at 866-903-3787 to speak to a professional about depression and get help with mental health resources.

Acts 20:24 NIV — However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me — the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.

We have spent this week together examining different aspects of retirement. If you are not retired, I pray you are still able to glean God’s message for you. No matter what stage of life or season you are in, God still has work for you to do. God can and will use us any time we are open to His guidance. As Christians, we are called to be God’s messengers. Writing is my avenue to share God’s love. How is God using you? Whether you have retired, are in the thick of the workforce, or just starting out, God’s got work for you to do to build His kingdom. Let’s be open, let’s be intentional, and let’s “finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given” us!

Let’s pray. Dear God, I am Your vessel. Guide and direct me so that I may complete Your task. Forgive me when I fall short. I am aiming to finish the race! In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.