Today’s Word: ‘Pit’ as in… when we’re in one, it’s helpful to look up.
Joseph… you know, the one with the coat, the one with the “I’m dad’s favorite” coat.
In Genesis 37 we see just how bad it can get when it really gets bad. Joseph’s brothers want to kill their little brother and throw his body in a pit. They’re willing to do that and even lie to their own dad about it. Sheeesh. Losers. But Reuben, who’s been busy working on an idea for a sandwich with Swiss cheese, corned beef and sauerkraut, doesn’t want to risk it.
So he ways, “Nope, we’re not going to do that. Just throw him in the pit.”
Now activate your imagination, if you haven’t already. I have.
Joseph is in the pit. It’s bad down there. And no one is likely to come along and look in it. It’s empty. No water. No food. No traffic coming by. This is really bad. So Joseph is looking around trying to get his eyes to adjust to the darkness. He can’t see much. He kicks at the rocks on the ground, he reaches out and feels the coolness of the dirt wall.
Sound familiar? Feel familiar?
When we’re in dark places in our lives, it’s about all we can do to just look down at our feet. It’s almost too much to process what’s going on right in front of us. But in this story Joseph has a reason to look up. Looking up from the pit to the sky above, looking up to the breezes that are blowing up there provide hope.
Looking up to a new way of life.
Sure, Joseph gets hauled out and sold to the Ishmaelites. But looking up is what got him from where he was to where he wound up, even if he couldn’t see it!
Life Lesson: We can either sit where we are and look at our feet. Or we can look up to the promise of new things to come. When we’re in a pit, it’s helpful to look up.