The Pit: When Life Stops Looking Like the Promise
When God's Dream Leads You to a Pit: Trusting God in the Seasons That Don't Make Sense
God gives big dreams. But what happens when the path to that dream leads straight through a pit? The story of Joseph is one of the most honest pictures in the Bible of what it looks like when God's promise and your present reality seem to have nothing in common.
What Does It Mean When God's Promise Leads to a Pit?
Joseph received a dream from God. He had a calling, a future, and a Father who loved Him deeply. And then, just 17 verses after receiving that dream, he was stripped of his robe and thrown into a pit by his own brothers. Sold for 20 pieces of silver. Taken to Egypt as a slave.
That is a plot twist nobody asks for.
If you have ever felt like God gave you a word, a dream, or a direction, and then life took a hard turn in the opposite direction, you are not alone. Joseph lived that story. And his story holds something powerful for anyone walking through a season that looks nothing like the promise.
Why Does God Allow Pit Seasons?
Here is something worth holding onto: God does His deepest work in seasons that make the least amount of sense.
The pit was not the end of Joseph's story. It was the beginning of the process. Before God could get Joseph to the palace, He had to take Him through the process. The pit was simply the space between the promise and the fulfillment.
There are no wasted seasons in the Kingdom of God. Whether you are on the mountaintop or at the bottom of a pit, God sees you, God hears you, and He is not done with you yet.
What Happens When We Only Follow God in the Good Seasons?
It is easy to follow God when everything is going well. It is easy to praise Him when prayers are being answered and life feels full. But what do you do when it feels like He is not there?
You cannot be a seasonal Christian and expect to last. God calls us to a persevering faith, a faith that endures through the hard seasons, not just the comfortable ones. Jesus Himself said, "I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world." (John 16:33, New Living Translation)
Following Jesus means picking up a cross. It means there will be pit seasons. But those seasons do not mean He has abandoned you.
How Do You Stay Grounded When Life Feels Like It Is Falling Apart?
When the wind is blowing hard, you stay grounded by staying rooted in the Word. If God said it, He meant it. The wind will try to move you from side to side, but when you are anchored in His Word, it does not matter how hard the storm blows.
Do not let your season dictate your view of God. God's goodness is not determined by your circumstances. He is good in the highs and in the lows, on the mountaintop and in the pit.
When you focus on the Savior and not the season, you can stay grounded. We are not ruled by our feelings. We are moved by our faith.
Does God Still Love You When You Are in the Pit?
One of the most important things to understand about Joseph's story is this: God loved Joseph more than He loved the dream He gave Joseph.
God did not remove His love from Joseph because He fumbled His dream. God did not pull back His calling because Joseph made mistakes. The Bible is clear that His gifts and His calling are irrevocable. People did not call you, so people cannot stop you.
The real battle is often not outside voices counting you out. It is your own mind telling you that you are too dirty, too broken, too far gone for God to use. But God still chooses you. God still loves you. God still has a plan for you.
"You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous, how well I know it." (Psalm 139:13-14, New Living Translation)
Your pit of despair, your pit of isolation, your pit of self-doubt cannot stop the move of God that is over your life.
What Does It Mean That God Is the God of the "Meanwhile"?
When Joseph's brothers threw him in the pit and sold him to traders, they thought they were ending his story. But the scripture says, "Meanwhile, the Midianite traders arrived in Egypt." (Genesis 37:36, New Living Translation)
Meanwhile. That one word changes everything.
While Joseph was in the pit, God was working. While his brothers thought they were destroying his future, God was positioning Him. You may not see it. You may not feel it. You may not understand it. But God always has "next" in mind.
You may not know what tomorrow holds, but you know who holds your tomorrow. That is what you stand firm on.
Is It Okay to Be Angry at God When You Are Hurting?
Honest answer: yes. Yelling at God is still talking to God. It means you are going to the right person.
There is a reason the Holy Spirit is called the Comforter. He would not carry that name if we never needed comforting. Peace is not the absence of problems. Peace is the presence of God.
Some of us are asking God to remove the pain when He is trying to give us peace in the middle of it. Pain and peace can exist at the same time. Maybe instead of asking God to take the storm away, the prayer becomes: "God, I do not understand why I am going through this. But I do not need to understand. I just need Your presence."
How Do You Stand Firm When You Are in the Middle of the Pit?
Three things matter when you find yourself in a pit season:
- Remember who God is. He is Jehovah Jireh, your provider. He is the Prince of Peace. He is the author and finisher of your faith. He is with you in the beginning, the end, and everything in between.
- Remember who you are and whose you are. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. Your mistakes do not disqualify you. Your past does not define you. God loves you more than your performance.
- Stand firm on the promise. The pit is not where your story ends. It is just the process. There is still more ahead of you.
"And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them." (Romans 8:28, New Living Translation)
Everything. Not just the good things. Not just the comfortable things. Everything, including the pit seasons, is working together for your good.
What If You Have Been Waiting on God but He Is Actually Waiting on You?
Some of us have dreams God gave us years ago. And we keep saying we are waiting on direction. But God has already given the dream. He has already spoken the promise. He is not holding back. He is waiting for you to take a step.
God will direct you, but He will not force you. His Word is a lamp to your feet. He will guide each step, but you have to take it. Even if it is filled with tears. Even if you are scared. Even if you do not know exactly where it leads. Take the step anyway.
Do not give up. He is with you. Walk again.
Life Application
This week, identify the pit season you are currently in or the one you have been avoiding. Instead of asking God to remove the difficulty, shift your prayer. Ask Him for His presence, His peace, and the strength to take one step forward in faith, even if you cannot see the full path ahead.
Write down the dream or promise God has given you. Put it somewhere you will see it daily as a reminder that the pit is not the end of your story. It is part of the process.
Ask yourself these questions as you reflect this week:
- Am I allowing my current season to shape how I see God, rather than letting who God is shape how I see my season?
- Have I been waiting on God when He has actually already given me the dream and is waiting on me to take a step?
- Do I truly believe that God loves me more than the dream He gave me, and that His love is not removed by my mistakes or my pit?
- What would it look like for me to stand firm this week, even if nothing in my circumstances changes?
The pit is not where your story ends. God is with you in the in between. Do not give up on a God who has not given up on you.