Remember Oscar the Grouch? He lived at the bottom of a trash can on Sesame Street–and somehow he was happy there. I always thought he had sunk about as low as anyone could.
Have you reached the bottom? Different people have different bottoms. For one, a single failure in school or bad performance review on the job, may cause them to change their ways forever. Others find themselves homeless on “Skid Row,” but still refuse to make any changes. If your life is ever going to change, it will probably happen when you reach the bottom, that point where you know you need to suddenly change everything or all is lost. For many, it is that realization that drives us to Christ: we know we have finally reached the bottom and nothing but a complete reversal is going to get us out of this.
When I was a kid, Larry Gatlin recorded Chris Christian’s song, “Light at the End of the Darkness.” This long-forgotten song has a pair of lines that I have never gotten out of my head:
“I was looking up from the bottom when it finally shined on me. I was looking up through the bottom when it finally shined on me.”
Have you ever reached the bottom? Has your life sunk so deep in a pit you feel like you fell down a well? Have you been to the bottom, where the only light you could see came from an opening far above you? Have you crashed so hard that only a complete change—such as putting Jesus in the driver’s seat—will repair the damage?
Israel reached that point when God brought punishment for the nation’s idolatry. Wars and famine brought the nation so low that some actually engaged in cannibalism, Lamentations 4:10. (I call that reaching the bottom.) But they prayed.
“I called on Your Name Yahweh from the depths of the pit. You hear my plea; do not ignore my cry for relief. You come near when I call on You. You say, ‘Do not be afraid.’” Lamentations 3:55-57.
When you find yourself looking up from the bottom, TURN TO CHRIST. Cry out to Him. Some of us will reach bottom more than once. Maybe you turned from one sin, but fell into another. Or you did not sin, but God simply allowed unexpected circumstances to knock you down and humble you. The Christian life is a mountain range—and every mountaintop is surrounded by valleys. You may hit bottom several times in life. When you do, turn to Jesus.
“I called on Your Name from the depths of the pit … You come near when I call and You say, ‘Do not be afraid.’” Lamentations 3:55-57.
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