“I waited patiently for the LORD; and He inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the LORD.” Psalm 40:1-4 (ESV).
There is a popular saying that goes, “When you’ve hit rock bottom, the only place to go is up.” However, it doesn’t always feel that way. Often, it feels as if we’ve tripped and fallen into a deep, dark pit, and when it seems like it couldn’t get any worse, the floor opens up, and we are falling again.
Sometimes, it feels like we are helplessly sitting in this pit, looking up at our goals, dreams, plans, and what we envisioned our lives to look like. This pit, with no footholds or ledges, feels impossible to climb out of on our own, and our dreams, on the surface, seem to drift further and further away. The longer we stay in this pit, the louder our mourning for what could have been becomes. We mourn the weakness we find ourselves in, and even though we’ve hit rock bottom, it feels like there’s no way up.
But, in this vulnerable state of weakness, our loving Father steps in – just as He did for King David in Psalm 40. He inclines to us and hears our cry. He scoops us up from that dark, dreary pit and sets our feet upon a rock. Yet, after our miraculous rescue, we look around and find our missing dreams and goals are nowhere to be found. Instead, God offers us a new song. He presents us with new goals, new dreams, new plans and a new outlook on life. Our previous, self-serving ambitions led us to that pit, but God wants to lead us to Himself.
At this moment, we each face a choice: will we continue singing our old song—one that leads us down a road filled with ditches and pitfalls—or will we accept the new song our Savior offers and use our experience to glorify God? The new song is one of praise that shifts the focus from us to who He is. It’s a song that encourages those around us to ask about whom we are singing, drawing them in and directing their gaze towards Heaven.
Our God is not just a God of rescue; He is a God of complete restoration. He takes situations that seem hopeless and fills them with hope. He transforms moments when we are focused solely on ourselves into opportunities to minister to others. When we reach our weakest points, God can show His power even more. This is why Paul boasts of his weakness! For when we are weak, our own pride can’t get in the way of what God is trying to build in us.
I find myself hitting rock bottom much more often than I would like. However, I know it is not the end; rather, it is the beginning of an opportunity to fulfill my true purpose as a daughter of God. Rock bottom creates space in my life for what’s truly important—what my life is genuinely about.
And so, I would revise the popular saying: “When you’ve hit rock bottom, look up; the God of restoration is on His way.”
