In the story of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11–32), the pigpen was about as bad as it could get. The Jews whom Jesus told this story to would have understood this. In their culture, the pig is an unclean animal—not fit to eat. The prodigal son was working with them as a professional pig feeder!
To make matters worse, he was so hungry that even the pigs’ food looked appetizing (v. 16). I don’t know about you, but I would not want to eat what pigs eat. However, he had no other options. He was out of money.
Thankfully, while the prodigal son was wallowing in the mud, something happened. Luke 15:17 says, “he came to himself.” He remembered how good his father was—even to the servants. At that moment, he realized he would rather go home and become a servant than stay with the pigs and starve.
Stop Wallowing in the Pigpen
Although the prodigal son came to himself, many people do not. Or they take an extremely long time to do so. I know people who were once on fire for God but are now wallowing in the pigpen—and have been for decades. They are doing only what’s needed to get by. Many are so used to living with “pigs” that it’s not even a big deal to them anymore.
I’m talking about people with a call of God on their lives. They let resentment or a wrong belief into their hearts, and it changed their destiny. Some are in jail. Others are atheists and want nothing to do with God. They are in the pigpen.
I know other people who look like a million bucks on the outside, but inside they are hurting like crazy. They are in the mud mentally. They may have rededicated their lives to God, but they have banished themselves to the pigpen. They think they don’t deserve anything better because of what they did in the past.
The truth is, Christianity is not about what we deserve. If it were, we would all be dead because of our sins (Eph. 2:1). We see in Ephesians 2:4–5 that together with Christ, God made us alive! Jesus took our punishment—what we deserved—and gave us His love, joy, health, and peace.
With God by your side, you have everything you need to get past everything you’ve done.Craig W. Hagin
It’s Not Too Late
We’ve all been in pigpen situations. But we don’t have to stay there! We can get out. God is able and willing to take us out of whatever we’ve put ourselves into. I don’t care how bad it seems. God has provided a way for us. Someone may say, “I’ve messed up my life so badly, it can’t get any better. God doesn’t want me.” Stop listening to the devil’s lies!
The reason your life is a mess is that the devil is out to destroy you. He wants to steal your life from you (John 10:10). He wants you to think you deserve to stay in the pigpen for the rest of your days. He may even try to tell you to end your life—that your life is worthless.
Your life is not worthless! It can sometimes feel as if you’re in a situation where you can’t get back up. You may feel as though you’re too far from God and no one can help you. However, the Bible says God loves you unconditionally. Nothing can separate you from His love (Rom. 8:38–39).
Now, it is possible for you to separate yourself from the Lord because you feel unworthy. Have you ever said or thought, “This is what I deserve,” or “God is doing this to punish me”? That is a mud-pit mentality. That kind of thinking keeps you away from God and wallowing in the mud with the pigs.
The truth is, your Heavenly Father is always there for you. He isn’t trying to punish you. No matter what you’ve done—even if you have a long laundry list of sins—you can come boldly to His throne (Heb. 4:16), knowing He won’t reject you. After all, that’s why Jesus came (John 3:16). God never stopped loving the world, even when it wouldn’t accept Him. And He has never stopped loving you.
The Father’s Love
We see the unconditional love God has for us in the story of the prodigal son. When he began his journey back home, the young man thought he would become a servant. After all, he had disowned his father and the entire family. But the father ran to his son when he saw him. He didn’t give him the position of a servant; he reinstated him as a son.
Our Father God is the same way. When we come back to Him—or when we finally give all our issues to Him—He runs to meet us. He says, “I’m glad you’re back. You’re not going to live as a servant. You’re going to live as a son or daughter.”
There’s nothing like coming back to our Father! We’ve all had pigpen experiences. Where everything goes wrong and nothing seems right. But when we come back to Him, He welcomes us with open arms.
See Yourself as God Sees You
See yourself the way God sees you. He doesn’t see you as a loser. He sees you as someone who is more than a conqueror in Christ.
Jesus didn’t die on the cross for a worthless person. He didn’t die the way He did for you to be depressed or so the devil could whip you every day. Jesus gave His life so you could have an abundant life.
If you’ve fallen, who cares? It’s time to rise and shake off the mud-pit mentality! Come to yourself! Decide today to live differently. God wants you to get up. He loves you and is right there, ready to help you.
No matter what the people around you say, your Heavenly Father accepts you. He says you’re worthy. Turn to Him. With God by your side, you have everything you need to get past everything you’ve done.
Faith IN ACTION
You Can Be Free
Have you banished yourself to the pigpen? No matter where you’ve been or where you are now, you can turn to God. He loves you and is waiting for you with open arms. Here are some Bible verses that tell of His love. Read and speak them aloud every day.
“O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive, so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help” (Psalm 86:5 NLT).
“The Lord your God is with you, . . . He will take great delight in you; in his love he will no longer rebuke you, but will rejoice over you with singing.” (Zephaniah 3:17 NIV).
Author
Craig W. Hagin
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One Comment on “Get Out of the Pigpen”
Thank you for helping me out of the pigpen, I hope this reaches many others