Abiding in Cisterns

"But the LORD said to me, ‘You must go...Do not be afraid...for I am with you and will rescue you’ declares the LORD” Jeremiah 1:7. “They lowered Jeremiah by ropes into the cistern; it had no water in it, only mud, and Jeremiah sank down into the mud” Jeremiah 38:6.

Jeremiah was never in doubt about what God was asking him to do. The call was clear but the path would be difficult. Every day walking out God’s purpose for his life would be met with loneliness, opposition and exhaustion. He eventually was thrown into a cistern where it seemed as if he might starve to death in the dark. But where there is darkness God brings the light.

Back in 2010 my husband and I knew that the Lord was urging us to bring my father-in-law with Alzheimer’s to live with us. We had an overwhelming sense of peace in the decision but the day to day of living it out was something we couldn’t ever imagine. The daily call in the trenches was sometimes too much to bear. Many days I felt like I had been lowered into a hole of mud sinking deeper and deeper every day. The one thing that kept me going was knowing that I was walking out the call of God for that season. That was my anchor...the knowledge that I was where He intended me to be. I knew in my heart that it was a temporary season which also was a lifeline He threw. Then one day that season was complete and we all were rescued. My father-in-law was rescued from one of the most horrendous diseases that exist, and we were rescued from the pain of watching him in that state. We were freed up from the physical, emotional and spiritual challenges that had marked its daily place on our calendar for the previous year.

God has now called my husband and me to another cistern. We are not sure how long our calling with be but once again we have been called together. I’m so grateful that while the journey might be a little out of focus, the calling is crystal clear.

What have you been called to endure that is a challenge to walk out each day? Please be encouraged that the God who calls is the One who will rescue. ‘...and they pulled him up with the ropes and lifted him out of the cistern. And Jeremiah remained in the courtyard of the guard’ Jeremiah 38:13.