6: Then they took Jeremiah and cast him into the cistern of Malchijah the king's son, which was in the court of the guardhouse; and they let Jeremiah down with ropes. Now in the cistern there was no water but only mud, and Jeremiah sank into the mud.
This past weekend has seemed to be full of "mud" for me. That is, it hasn't been entirely full of dirt and filth, but it also hasn't been full of pure water. It's been more of a mixture. And even though pure water, on its own, is clear and cool and satisfying and life-giving, mixed with dirt it becomes mud. And even though mud contains that cool, refreshing water, it is still a mess. And almost always, mud is even more of a mess than plain, old dirt. And that has been my weekend. Not totally good, not totally bad, just a messy mixture of the two. I've been stuck between good and bad, purity and corruption, light and dark. And even though I've had recent times of worship and love, they've been tainted by the times of sin and despair. the pure water of fellowship has been mixed with the filthiness of sin and has created a mudpit in me. And just like the cistern that the prophet Jeremiah had fallen into, the cistern I've been in contains no water, but only mud. Because even though water is part of the mixture of mud, it is not part of the result. And even though, like I said, there's been a mixture of things going on in my life, there's only been one result. In the end, there is only mud. Even the purest, clearest, best streams of water become nothing less than a pit of mud when you throw in a pile of dirt. And another thing about the mud is that you sink. Like quick sand, any attempt to escape the mud just causes you to sink down deeper. And all of my vain attempts to escape the mud have proven to be just as useless. Just like Jeremiah sank hopelessly into the cistern, alone I sink hopelessly into my own mess. But thanks, infinite thanks, be to God our Father who loves us and cares for us. Because even in our helpless state, all hope is not lost.
13: So they pulled Jeremiah up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern, and Jeremiah stayed in the court of the guardhouse.
Jeremiah was lifted from the pit. Saved by the efforts of good men, he was lifted and restored to the solid ground. And that same hope exists for me today. I am surrounded by cords of hope. Whether it be the word of a friend, the prayers of fellow believers, the Word of Truth, or any other sort of divine intervention, there is hope! Just like the men that pulled Jeremiah from the cistern, there are people in my life who are willing to pull me from my mud. Thank the Lord for the believers at my church, for the people who pray for me, for christian friends at school, for my amazing girlfriend, for my access to God's perfect word, for the ropes I have to hold on to. So instead of wallowing in the mud that I've been stuck in, I'm going to embrace the ropes around me and trust in God to pull me through and lift me higher. I have a wonderful hope and a wonderful God to cling to and to trust in. And He is able to turn my desperation to joy, my tears to laughter, and my mud into pure water. He has been faithful, so faithful, and He will ever be.
