The lowest of lows

“You threw me into the sea. Your powerful waves splashed over me. I went down, down into the deep sea.
The water was all around me. Then I thought, ‘Now I must go where you cannot see me,’ but I continued looking to your holy Temple for help." (Jonah 2:3-4)

We all are subject to those 'weak moments' when darkness is about to consume us, having made unwise choices. In the darkest places, it never ceases to amaze me that we 'call out'. We may not even know what we are calling out for, or who it is we are calling out to, but we 'call out'. Why? We need help! We feel shame over our actions. We aren't doing 'well' emotionally, spiritually, or physically and we need help. Does it come as any surprise that in the darkest of places Jonah is still looking to God for help? It shouldn't because we serve a God of redemption!

I was at the bottom of the sea, the place where the mountains begin. I thought I was locked in this prison forever, but the Lord my God took me out of my grave. God, you gave me life again! (vs. 6)

At our lowest place, God is there. At our highest peak, God is there. At our everyday, run-of-the-mill kind of moments, God is there. If you're doubting that right now, think again. God has never abandoned us, and he never will. Sin drives a wedge between us, but grace works to remove the wedge. When we feel we are 'locked into our sinful patterns' in life, we need to only cry out. God is at the ready to give us life again. We make the choice to follow sin's pull - we also make the choice to embrace his grace when our sin has led us to feel ashamed and overwhelmed.

We all come to our 'bottom places', but he is right there beside us, reaching for us. We might not always 'feel' God with us, nor will we always be able to 'see' he is working in us, but we can trust that he never leaves us to experience that darkness alone. Jesus went to the grave for us - the darkest place did not consume him, so why would we think God incapable of helping us find our way out of ours? Just askin!