April 11, 2025 Devo

Let me ask you what might be one of the most important questions you can answer. “How bad is bad enough?” How bad does something have to get before you admit that something is wrong and ask for God’s help? David’s words here are hauntingly descriptive of the dangerous game many of us are playing. The waters are rising. The problems are mounting. How high do they have to get before you realize you are going to drown if you don’t do something?
In other words, how bad does it have to get between you and your spouse before you admit that your marriage needs some help? How many times do you have to lose your temper, throw something, or say something you wish you wouldn’t have said before you ask for help with your anger? How much money do you have to lose before you admit you have a gambling addiction? So let me ask it again. “How bad is BAD ENOUGH?”
In recovery, we have a phrase called “hitting bottom.” It’s basically the place where you’ve lost enough, hurt badly enough, or sunk low enough that you, in the words of the Prodigal Son, “come to your senses.” That’s when many addicts ask for help. But do we HAVE to get there? The one piece of pre-marital advice I give to every couple I marry is this: “Come to me when your problems are SMALL.” The reason I tell them that is because the smaller the problems are, the easier it is to address and fix them. The longer they wait, the more complicated the problems become, and the more scar tissue there is to try to heal. That fact is true in EVERY area of life.
So listen to David’s words. Don’t wait until you hit bottom. Don’t wait until your marriage is in a mess, your temper has cost you multiple relationships, or your addiction has sucked every bit of life out of you. Call out to God while He still may be found. He will help you. WE will help you. A LITTLE bad is bad enough. We and God are all here for you. You don’t have to hit bottom to start back up. That’s God’s Word for you today.