January 17, 2024

“Hitting bottom.” Have you ever heard that term? It’s the phrase we use to describe people who have pursued a destructive form of behavior until they hurt bad enough that they want to turn around. It’s like the old adage that says, “Most people don’t change because they see the light. They change because they feel the heat!” Sadly, that saying is more true than we’d like to admit. But here’s the thing. You can choose your ”bottom.” Let that sink in for a second. You don’t have to lose everything before you decide that the path you’re on just isn’t working.
Let’s look at the young son in our story. His “bottom” could have been a lot sooner if he had been a little wiser. He could have decided the first morning that he woke up with a hangover that having a splitting headache and being nauseated wasn’t the way he wanted to live. He could have headed home the first time he realized that his so-called “friends” were just hanging around for the free drinks and food. The day he counted his money and saw how much he’d blown, he could have run back to his father, repented of his foolishness, and asked to reinvest in the family business. The “bottom” didn’t have to be broke, starving, and working on a pig farm. It could have been much earlier without nearly as much pain and loss. That was simply the “bottom” the young man chose.
What bottom will YOU choose? How much will your marriage have to fall apart before you choose to start putting it back together? How far from God will you have to slip before you choose to turn back to Him with all your heart? How many relationships will you have to lose before you choose to face your attitudes, outlooks, and behaviors that are driving people away? How much of your life will you have to lose to your addiction before you decide to get help, get sober, and get a new life? The bottom doesn’t have to be when you have nothing left or have nowhere to go. It can be anytime you decide “enough is enough” and ask God’s help for deliverance. The bottom doesn’t have to be the end. It could be The Beginning. And it could be NOW. You choose your bottom. That’s God’s Word for you today.