“He brought me up out of the pit of destruction… and He set my feet upon a rock.” ~ Psalm 40:2
The holes we dig ourselves into in life can be incredibly deep. And some of them can become so deep that we need help climbing out of them.
Within a couple of years of our marriage, my wife and I found ourselves digging such a hole. Being young and careless, we had yet to learn anything about financial responsibility. If we saw something we wanted, we went out and bought it that very same day. As our garage grew full of worthless clutter, our bank account shrank at twice the rate. But if we were running low on cash, we didn’t see that as a problem. No, that’s why God created credit cards!
Within 5 years of getting married, we were on the verge of utter bankruptcy. With two children to clothe and feed no less!
But as God would so graciously have it, he allowed our paths to cross with a financial counselor. We met one afternoon and he looked over our financial situation. “It will take some time, but if you act now – you can avoid financial ruin. And here’s how.” So he went on to explain what we needed to do. Yes, it would be difficult. We would no longer be able to use credit for anything, assuming a cash-only lifestyle. He even suggested that I pick up a part-time job to help make ends meet while increasing our payments to our many creditors.
Being only one major expense away from losing everything, my wife and I agreed that we no longer wanted to live under the constant bondage of financial insecurity. We said “Yes!”
Over the next four years, with God’s help, we would gradually pay off all of our outstanding debt and finally experience financial freedom. What a day that was for us! And we have not forgotten this important life lesson all these many years later.
When we rely solely upon ourselves for contentedness, we are only setting ourselves up for eventual hardship. We may not recognize it initially; we may even make valid excuses and justifications for seeking out these worldly things that promise peace and happiness. But in the end, do they ever really deliver anything good?
What is it we seek today? Better yet, who is the Source we are seeking it from? God will allow us to keep digging, shovels in hand. But eventually we all find the point that we can dig no more: rockbottom.
When we look only to God for the peace and contentedness we seek, He takes the shovel out of our hands and breaks the chains that enslave us. Although the holes we dig may go deep, His love and mercy go even deeper.
There is no situation so hopeless, or concern so overwhelming, that God cannot use in our lives to draw us closer to Him.
All He simply asks us to do is stop digging, and start reaching….
For Him.
Former Blackout Artist 