WHEN I HIT ROCK BOTTOM…

LAMENTATIONS 3:55-59: “I called on Your name, Lord, Out of the lowest pit. You have heard my voice, “Do not cover Your ear from my plea for relief, From my cry for help.” You came near on the day I called to You; You said, “Do not fear!” Lord, You have pleaded my soul’s cause; You have redeemed my life. Lord, You have seen my oppression; Judge my case.”

OBSERVATION: What do you do when you hit rock bottom? You find yourself without any options, all the doors seem to be closed, and it seems that God is far away and is no longer hearing your prayers.

If anyone has ever experienced “Rock Bottom” it is the prophet Jeremiah!

Imagine what it would be like to be called to prophesy judgment against the nation you love, the chosen people of God, the Temple where you gathered for worship and to celebrate the festivals of the Lord? This was Jeremiah’s calling. It was a calling that made Jeremiah a byword in the houses of Jerusalem and one who was hated and despised by those who ruled.

Jeremiah was ridiculed, imprisoned, and from prison forced to watch the desecration of Jerusalem. His life was spared by the King of Babylon because of the truth he proclaimed and he was allowed to remain in Jerusalem. This was only to see those left in charge once again revolt and the Temple burned to the ground and the walls of Jerusalem broken down.

If this was not “Rock Bottom” then I don’t know what is!

The book of Lamentations is Jeremiah’s cry of pain as he looks over what once was the glorious city of the Lord. What is he to do now? Where is he to go? He had done everything the Lord called him to do and all he was left with was emptiness and pain, sorrow and mourning. In the midst of the most devastating and discouraging of circumstances, from “Rock Bottom” –

JEREMIAH PRAYS!

• “I called on Your name, Lord, Out of the lowest pit. You have heard my voice, “Do not cover Your ear from my plea for relief, From my cry for help.” You came near on the day I called to You; You said, “Do not fear!” Lord, You have pleaded my soul’s cause; You have redeemed my life. Lord, You have seen my oppression; Judge my case/”

There are several wonderful truths from these verses that we need to learn from Jeremiah’s moment of despair.

1. When we find ourselves at “Rock Bottom” it is not the end. It is a reminder to look up and call upon the name of the Lord! Many times we place our trust in the wrong things and the Lord, out of His mercy, allows us to come to the end of ourselves so that we once again turn our hearts fully toward Him.

2. God is always listening. He is attentive to our prayers. When we find ourselves in the lowest pit of life it feels like God is a million miles away. Yet, in reality, this is when He is closest and He hears our prayers and gathers every tear we shed and holds them in a bottle.

3. God begins to answer our prayer the moment we turn our hearts fully to Him. The first thing He does is to reassure our hearts of His presence. He said to Jeremiah – “Don’t fear!”. Fear is the opposite of love and God’s love for us never changes. His perfect love, His presence in our life, casts out all fear. This does not mean that the answer comes immediately, but His mercy and grace do!

4. Finally, we have an advocate who pleads our cause – Jesus Christ our Great High Priest. He is always standing on our behalf, interceding for us, bringing our cause before the heart of the Father. He is at work redeeming each and every situation and turning the circumstances of our lives toward His good and eternal purposes.

It is for these reasons that we do not have to fear “Rock Bottom”. It is the place where we meet the all-sufficient grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is where the mercies of God are poured upon us and we are renewed by His faithfulness. This is the reason Jeremiah, earlier in this chapter writes,

• “I recall this to my mind, Therefore I wait. The Lord’s acts of mercy indeed do not end, For His compassions do not fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I wait for Him.” The Lord is good to those who await Him, To the person who seeks Him. It is good that he waits silently For the salvation of the Lord .” Lamentations 3:21-26

Heavenly Father, God of all mercy and comfort, come to my aid today. Forgive me for the times when my hands are held down rather than being lifted up in sincere prayer, worship, and praise. Keep me looking up, calling upon Your name, and resting in the promise – “Great is Your faithfulness!” Rock bottom is the place where I find the unsearchable riches of your grace and mercy.

• “Indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead, For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, of our affliction which occurred in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life. who rescued us from so great a danger of death, and will rescue us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us,” 2 Corinthians 1:8-10

In Jesus’ Name!