There is Grace in Hitting Rock Bottom

I've been looking at all the craziness going on in this world and meditating on these scriptures.

2 Peter 3:9 (NIV) "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."

Romans 2:4 (CEB) "Or do you have contempt for the riches of God’s generosity, tolerance, and patience? Don’t you realize that God’s kindness is supposed to lead you to change your heart and life?"

Romans 2:4 (AMPC-AMP classic) Are you so blind as to trifle with, presume upon, despise, and underestimate the wealth of his kindness, forbearance, and long-suffering patience? Are you unmindful or actually ignorant of the fact that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repent, to change your mind and inner man to accept God’s will?

When we read these scriptures, we are seeing the heart of God revealed. God is not eager to punish. He is not negligent. He is not inattentive. He is patient. He does stretch out time and restrains what is deserved. Why? Because his deepest desire is that no one would perish.

Because at the core of God’s being is this longing:

·       That humanity would turn.

·       That hearts would be softened.

·       That minds would change.

·       That inner lives would be transformed.

God’s kindness is not accidental. His mercy is not random. His goodness is not weakness. God’s goodness is strategy. That means every act of divine patience is to lead us to repentance. Every undeserved mercy is to lead us to repentance. Every breath we still breathe is to lead us to repentance. This is God saying come, change your mind, and let me change your heart. Because God’s bottom-line desire is not destruction. His delight is in repentance, reconciliation, and redemption.

And yet…. here is the tension. Goodness alone does not always produce surrender. Some people don’t come to God or surrender when they encounter God’s goodness. Some experience his mercy and remain unmoved. Some receive his patience and mistake it for permission. Some interpret his delay as indifference. Some taste his kindness and refuse transformation.

And here is where we understand the Grace in Hitting Rock Bottom. This is where life begins to teach what love was trying to whisper. Breaking is not God’s love language. But if we continually push against grace, we will eventually collide with reality. Because there are consequences built into creation. There’s harvest built into seeds. And there’s an end built into rebellion. If a person never reaches the end of themselves, they rarely reach for God. So God simply allows us to reach the end of ourselves.   And we come to the end of ourselves.

We say we hit rock bottom when....

·       all of our illusions are shattered

·      our self-sufficiency collapses

·     the props fall out from under us

·      false idols crumble

·      all your resources fail

·      all your strength runs out

·      that addiction finally costs you too much

When we come face to face with ourselves in that stripping place, and repentance becomes possible, rock bottom can be holy ground.

Moses wasn’t looking for God when he noticed the burning bush. As he paid attention, the burning bush pulled him closer. And he found himself in an encounter with God. And when he encountered God, God spoke and said,

“Remove your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”

Sometimes, rock bottom is our burning bush. The place of exhaustion, loss, crisis, and breaking is the place where we’re stripped of our image, performance, and defense. That lowest point may be the ground where God reveals Himself because he finally has our full attention. Rock bottom isn’t the absence of God. Rock bottom is not abandonment. It is exposure. It exposes what could not save us. It exposes where we placed our trust. It exposes our need.

There are those on a path of rebellion who will eventually reap what they’ve sown. And that is sometimes very painful to observe. There is a process they must experience. We cannot rescue them. We can hold empathy. But it is their process. We can have compassion, but it is their process.

We can not rescue people from the very process that may save them. Even there, at rock bottom, grace is present. Rock bottom is that place where there can be the personal encounter and surrender that can truly transform the heart.

I want to remind us of three things…

1.     God knows when to intervene.

2.     God shows up as needed.

3.     There is grace in hitting rock bottom.

If you are sitting in your own version of rock bottom and are ready for some honesty, surrender, and real change, I would be honored to journey with you through spiritual life coaching. Reach out to me at 704.281.4166 or email me at wpendergrassllc@gmail.com

Our monthly Sacred Journaling group will gather via Zoom on Tuesday, February 24, from 6:30-7:15 pm. I would love for you to join us as we connect with God through journaling. Email me to receive the Zoom link.

From Light to Light,

WandaP

https://youtu.be/gRJ-qjIz0sI?list=RDgRJ-qjIz0sI