Guest Encourager: Rachel Smith "Lifted"

Lifted, by Rachel Smith

Psalm 40:2
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.

I saw Shrek the Third with my kids this past week. During most of this movie the 40th Psalm reverberated in my head. It probably has something to do with the fact that the main character, Shrek, is an ogre and chooses to live in a swamp.

That’s what I picture when I read this Psalm, the slimy, nasty, stinky pit of a swamp. There are days that this Psalm describes my mental state of being. I am stuck in thick heavy mud. I wallow in the stench and refuse to get up and move on.

But- HE- lifts me up out of the slimy pit.

Not only will God find me in my mud and mire, but His desire is to lift me out of it. I am amazed that not only will He save me forever, but also every day. He puts my feet on a rock where I can safely stand. The creator and perfector of the universe cares enough about you and I to lift us out of our slimy pits when we don’t know how to do it ourselves.

But wait, there’s more. He then gives us a firm place to stand.

Are you in the pit with Shrek or on the rock of Christ?

May He lift you today!
Rachel

Rachel is an old and dear friend. She is a wife and mother of two boys. She works at Western Illinois University and lives in Macomb Illinois where we originally began our friendship.