Christian in the Swamp of Despond

"Now I saw in my dream, just as they had finished talking, that they came near to a very miry swamp that was in the middle of the valley. Then suddenly both Christian and Pliable, who were not paying attention to where they were walking, fell into the swamp. The name of the swamp was Despond. They wallowed there until they were both completely covered with mud. Christian, weighed down by the burden on his back, began to sink .

Then Pliable said, "Ah, neighbour Christian, where are you now?"

"Honestly," said Christian, "I don't know."

Christian's answer offended Pliable, who angrily said to Christian, "Is this the happiness you have been telling me about all the time we have been together? If we have this much difficulty at the beginning of our journey, what may we expect between now and the end of our journey? If I get out of this swamp alive, you can have the brave country that you're so fond of talking about without me." And with that he gave a desperate struggle or two and got out of the mire on the side of the swamp that was nearest to the City of Destruction. So away he went, and Christian never saw him again.

Christian was left to struggle in the Swamp of Despond alone. In spite of the difficulty, Christian still tried to get to the side of the swamp that was the furthest from the City of Destruction and nearest the narrow gate. He finally reached the edge of the swamp, but he could not, no matter how hard he tried, lift himself out of the swamp because of the heavy burden that was on his back. Just then I saw in my dream that a man whose name was Help came to him and asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Sir," said Christian, "I was told to go this way by a man called Evangelist, who directed me also to the narrow gate so that I would escape the wrath to come. And as I was going there, I fell in here."

"But why didn’t you look for the steps?" Help asked.

"I was so frightened that I stepped the wrong way and fell into the swamp."

Then Help said, "Give me your hand." So Christian gave him his hand, and he pulled him out,aa set him on solid ground, and told him to go on his way.

Going over to the man who had pulled him out of the swamp, Christian asked, "Sir, since this swamp is right between the City of Destruction and the narrow gate, why hasn’t someone filled this swamp so that travelers could walk over it safely?"

"This miry swamp," Help replied, "cannot be filled or repaired. It is the low spot where collects all the scum and filth that goes along with conviction for sin, and that is why it is call the Swamp of Despond. When a sinner is awakened to his lost condition, then doubts, fears, and discouraging apprehensions swell up in his soul, along with other miseries, which all get together and settle in this swamp. And that is why the ground is so bad in this place."

(Excerpt from John Bunyan – The Pilgrim's Progress)