AUGUST 8, 2005

RUTS AND PITS
Pastor George Van Alstine

A rut is a trail that has been followed repeatedly for so long that permanent grooves are cut into the landscape. As they deepen, it becomes increasingly easier to follow the grooves and more and more difficult to break out of them to develop a fresh path. In time the grooves dig so deep that walls begin to rise alongside the trail. To change direction requires not only the ability to jump out of the grooves, but also the effort of climbing over the walls.

When we say, “I’m in a rut,” we’re not just talking about a habitual behavior pattern, but also about deep grooves, or even high, containing walls. Ruts are much harder to get out of than we at first believe.

A pit is different from a rut. It is like a rut with four walls. There’s no way to go forward, and you can’t even turn and retrace your steps. There seems to be no escape.

All ruts eventually can turn into pits. You follow the rut deeper and deeper, and one day, you turn a corner and realize you’re in a pit. Trapped. Hemmed in on all sides.

The Biblical Psalms have a lot to say about pits. David and the other ancient poets who wrote these cries from the heart must have had intense personal experiences of pits. They saw the ultimate Pit as death itself, and individuals who were in deep emotional trouble were “like those who go down to the Pit” (Psalm 28:1, 30:3, 88:4, 143:7). People who are in a middle-of-life pit may feel as though they are already dead and in the Pit. And they take this as a personal rejection by God:
“You have put me in the depths of the Pit, in the regions dark and deep.
Your wrath lies heavy upon me, and you overwhelm me with your waves.” (Psalm 88:6-7)

Ruts are not the same as pits, because there seems to be a way out—straight ahead, where the grooves lead. But ruts usually develop into pits, so a rut-follower can look forward to one day being a pit-wallower.

There’s one wonderful thing about pits. It may look like there’s no escape, but there actually is. A pit has no roof, so it is always open to the grace of God. The great thing about a pit is that there is only one way to escape, and that is upward!

David gave his personal testimony in Psalm 40:
“I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from a horrible pit, out of a miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God.” (Psalm 40:1-3)

So in a sense, a pit is a better place to be than a rut. When you’re in a rut, you may have the illusion that you’re getting some place, and you may plod along indefinitely. But when you’re in a pit, you’re fully aware of your total helplessness. Walls surround you and extinguish your hope. Your eyes are forced to turn upward as you cry:
“Where will my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth . . . .”
(Psalm 121:1-2)

. . . . and ruts and pits;

. . . . and the way to escape from life’s pits;

. . . . and the Way to escape from the final Pit!