The Pit Is Not the End of Your Story
“Then they took him and threw him into the pit. The pit was empty, without water.” – Genesis 37:24
There are moments in life that feel like a sudden drop. One phone call. One conversation. One betrayal. One decision made by someone else. You were moving forward, and then everything stopped. The pit moments feel dark, isolating, and humiliating. They make you question how you ended up there and whether God had anything to do with it at all.
Joseph’s pit was literal and brutal. His brothers stripped him, tossed him into a hole in the ground, and sat down to eat while he cried out below them. That pit was not a lesson Joseph signed up for. It was not discipline for disobedience. It was the result of jealousy and hatred. From every human angle, that pit looked like punishment or the end of a dream God never intended to fulfill.
But Scripture shows us something deeper. The pit was not the destination. It was a transition. God was not finished with Joseph, and the pit was not evidence of abandonment. It was positioning. Joseph could not reach Egypt without passing through that hole in the ground. As painful as it was, the pit became the doorway to the very place God would later use him most. What looked like loss was actually movement.
Many of us misinterpret our pits. We assume God is correcting us, ignoring us, or pushing us aside. Sometimes a pit is not about what you did wrong, but about where God is taking you next. It is a place where control is stripped away, and trust is tested. You cannot climb out on your own, but you are not alone in it either.
If you feel stuck in a pit right now, do not assume the story is over. God does not waste suffering, and He does not confuse delay with denial. The pit may feel like the end, but it is often the setup. Hold on. What feels like a pause may actually be a pivot. God is still working, and this pit is not the final chapter of your story.
There are moments in life that feel like a sudden drop. One phone call. One conversation. One betrayal. One decision made by someone else. You were moving forward, and then everything stopped. The pit moments feel dark, isolating, and humiliating. They make you question how you ended up there and whether God had anything to do with it at all.
Joseph’s pit was literal and brutal. His brothers stripped him, tossed him into a hole in the ground, and sat down to eat while he cried out below them. That pit was not a lesson Joseph signed up for. It was not discipline for disobedience. It was the result of jealousy and hatred. From every human angle, that pit looked like punishment or the end of a dream God never intended to fulfill.
But Scripture shows us something deeper. The pit was not the destination. It was a transition. God was not finished with Joseph, and the pit was not evidence of abandonment. It was positioning. Joseph could not reach Egypt without passing through that hole in the ground. As painful as it was, the pit became the doorway to the very place God would later use him most. What looked like loss was actually movement.
Many of us misinterpret our pits. We assume God is correcting us, ignoring us, or pushing us aside. Sometimes a pit is not about what you did wrong, but about where God is taking you next. It is a place where control is stripped away, and trust is tested. You cannot climb out on your own, but you are not alone in it either.
If you feel stuck in a pit right now, do not assume the story is over. God does not waste suffering, and He does not confuse delay with denial. The pit may feel like the end, but it is often the setup. Hold on. What feels like a pause may actually be a pivot. God is still working, and this pit is not the final chapter of your story.
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4 Comments
thank you Pastor Pete
Such a good word. Thank you
I think we all have been to that pit in one way or another the key is submission to God and prayer for answers. Just like Joseph never give up but look up.
Thank you...