One day the ground looks firm and solid; the next a sinkhole is there and quietly growing — growing wider, deeper, and obviously more dangerous. You may not have sinkholes where you live. Your homes and buildings may be built upon “bedrock,” which gives a firm foundation, but some parts of the country have a base that is like the topsoil: pure sand.
It is small wonder that sometimes an underground river or excessive rain or even human activity may start a little hole which rapidly grows to a big hole and swallows anything unable to get out of its reach. Trees may fall in, houses may sink, and cars are sometimes lost.
Strangest of all, one day recently a new sinkhole seized a woman. She was not a big woman, nor a very heavy woman, but while she was working in her garden, she stepped back suddenly. Her feet went through grass and leaves on the ground and down she went — down until she found herself in a pit of sand, mud and clay.
She tried to climb out of the hole, but though the hole was only twenty-four inches wide, the sides were unstable and the more she struggled to climb up, the more dirt and sand fell on her.
She used her cell phone to send messages for help. Finally, she threw the phone out of the hole, hoping that someone would hear.
A 911 dispatcher did hear and sent a police officer to the house. When he entered the yard, he saw “fingers reaching out of a hole.” He called for help, and then, lying on his stomach, he grabbed her hands and held on.
At last more help arrived: another police officer and two firefighters. The three strong men were able to pull her up and lift her out. What relief she felt when the clutching dirt released its grip and she was safely out!
It was a terrible experience for her, but only a small picture of the deadly danger of sinking eternally into the sinkhole of what is called “the blackness of darkness forever.” That will be away from God, away from all light and hope, in a pit of endless despair.
Today there is still hope. Today is called “the day of grace,” and the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, still has His hands outstretched to hold you and lift you from the muck and mire of this world into His kingdom of light and joy. What relief that will be! What eternal relief, to know that you are safe in His strong hands, and the many sinkholes of life on earth are powerless to hold you.
Like the woman in the sinkhole, you can never climb on the crumbling walls around you. It is not by any work of righteousness which we have done, nor by any fancied goodness in ourselves; it is only by “His mercy He saved us.” That mercy endures forever: no more doubts, no more fears, only trust. Isn’t it wonderful?