In the Pit

If the stench was awful at first, it was now elevated to toxic levels that burned his lungs and scorched his nostrils with every breath.

Putrid, rotten, horrid filth.
His taste buds were beginning to absorb the fumes.

The pit he had been thrown into was the crude sewer system for his city.

The last few days his existence had consisted of avoiding the rodents scavenging through the human waste and of discerning where the most sanitary and safe place would be to rest.

He heard the far gate open again and before the smell hit him his stomach muscles began repulsing in anticipation of the "fresh" smells that would be assailing him momentarily.

Where was God?
Had he, Jeremiah, not delivered the Word of the Lord word for word as Jehovah had directed him?

To keep his sanity he forced his nostrils and taste buds to shut down and he closed his eyes to remember happier times.

He remembered King Josiah and the happy days when the Book of the Law was found. He remembered Josiah encouraging the people to follow after God.

Those were the days. He, Jeremiah had open access to the palace in Jerusalem. He was a young man in those days, but God had been gracious to him to allow him to see and experience the reading of the Law. He had seen the joy the words of the Torah could bring to his people.

But now.....

It was as if his people, his new king were no different than Jeremiah. Oh, they weren't in a pit filled with feces and rodents, but their spirits were in a worse pit than his.

His people, God's chosen people, rejected to word of the LORD continually. The more they refused to heed the warnings of the LORD, the more they sunk into the mire and filth of the depravity of their souls.

As if on cue, the "fresh" wave of nauseating stench flooded his sense of smell.

Bile and vomit welled up within his stomach and throat, but it had been so long since he had eaten there was nothing but acidic spittle wreaking havoc in his dehydrated body.

Once again he recounted the words of his God to him. It brought some sort of peace to his soul and a comfort to his misery to know that his suffering was serving a purpose.

He remembered hearing, feeling the breath of God speak to him: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."

He smiled a faint smile as he remembered his confusion at: "Get yourself ready. Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them."

His parched lips, thirsty for water and moisture, mouthed the words of his favorite: "For I know the plans I have for you. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

These were words his God, the Creator of the Universe, gave him to speak to the nations! If God were detailed as he believed he was, then these words would be around for hundreds of thousands of years.

At this moment, Jeremiah gave every effort to concentrate on a particular promise he would dwell on all day: "When you seek me with all your heart, I will be found by you and will bring you back from captivity."

Just maybe, that word could be for him today! Jeremiah determined in hes heart to seek and find the Lord God this day! It didn't matter that he was in a pit, that he was dying, or that he didn't have the life he once did. It only mattered that he seek his God today~ THIS day!

As he contemplated the greatness and goodness of God, he heard a voice shouting out.

His heart pounded a little faster when he heard his name! It was his name! Someone had come for him!

He, Jeremiah, the prophet, was about to BE FREE!!!!!

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May you dwell on the promises of God today, regardless of your circumstance~!

blessings,
dorinda